The excellent article by Paolo Kernahan in defence of banning imported honey is a reasoned response to complaints about the high cost of local honey relative to world market prices. Many diseases which attack only honey bees are spread when bees "rob" honey sources, including jars in the garbage, which have infected honey. Some diseases are spread when bees in all stages, from egg to adult, are imported.
The genesis of the import restriction on honey bee stock and used beekeeping equipment is probably a result of the government sending an apiarist to the University of Guelph in Canada decades ago to learn the science of apiculture. This historic ban on honey and beekeeping imports must remain. And that research needs to be a permanent investment in beekeeping in the tropics.
A closed market with limited supply relative to demand results in high domestic prices. This needs to be addressed in the interests of honey lovers not by opening the market to imports but by increasing local production.
It should be noted that the development for the aluminium smelter in Pt Fortin displaced beekeepers. Ready access to state lands with minimal bureaucracy for establishing apiaries would aid the development of commercial beekeeping. The concern about squatting by beekeepers can be sorted out. The value of honeybees as pollinators far exceeds the value of the honey harvested. It is time to ensure a future for honey lovers and honey producers.
Mark Hopkins,
via e-mail