Chinese honey production status and the market situation at home and abroad

【Objective】 To clarify the status of Chinese honey production and the honey market at home and abroad, and to provide a reference for the healthy development of China's bee industry.【Method】 Based on the relevant bee colony and honey statistics data of FAO, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Customs, this paper classified and analyzed the development trend of bee colony number, honey production and production area, the honey import and export trade and residents'consumption level from 1978 to 2019, so as to understand the honey production status and import and export situation in China.【Result】 From 1978 to 2019, the number of bee colonies, honey production and average honey production per colony in China showed an upward trend, with an average annual growth rate of 1.85%, 4.44% and 2.54%, respectively. The regional distribution of honey production in China is unbalanced, mainly distributed in East China, Central China and Southwest China. Among them, Zhejiang, Henan and Sichuan lead the country in honey production, accounting for 40.72% of the country's honey output in 2019. From 1978 to 2019, China's honey export volume and its proportion in the global honey export volume fluctuated greatly. The revealed comparative advantage index of Chinese honey export showed a significant downward trend and the international competitiveness gradually decreased. Besides, the export market was overly dependent on the European Union and Japan, and other international markets were waiting for development. The proportion of honey imported for consumption in China is low and the domestic consumption of honey is relatively low, basically maintaining at about 240 g per capita, which is substantially lower than in developed countries. At present, the apiculture industry in China is still neglected, with few employees and the use of unmodernized methods for production, an in sufficient exploitation of honey powder as a product, and the single production form of beekeeping. Honey production lacks unified industry standards and the honey quality is low. The resources applied to the development of the Chinese honey market at home and abroad areinsufficient and the international competitiveness is low. These and other problems need to be urgently addressed by the industry.【Suggestion】 Call on the government to strengthen the construction of apiculture with the mobilization of all sectors of society to jointly explore a new model for the development of modern bee keeping in China. This needs to be directed towards strengthening market supervision, the establishment of industry standards, and improving product quality topromote the healthy development of China's honey industry. Changes in the current business model and the adoption of more innovative management mechanisms are needed to expand the international and domestic markets. Together, this will change the traditional concept of bee keeping in China and promote the development of the bee industry in the direction of diversification.