Local apiarist Ben McIntyre was searching for ways to diversify his business when he learnt about the growing market in live bee exports to the United States to fill a need for bees to pollinate fruit crops in California.
“A lot of beekeepers are looking for ways to diversify as the market for honey has decreased dramatically so we are looking to pollination services or bee export to supplement our income,” Ben said.
Charles Peyvel, an apiarist from Central Western NSW is assisting Ben in the collection of the bees, and said Australia has been exporting live bees for about 20 years.
“Australians have been exporting bees for a long time, especially to the Middle East, Korea and Europe but the US market is a new one because of the decline in feral bees to pollinate almond crops, which are a major industry in California.”
Collecting bees is hard work, very different to collecting honey, something Ben has been working at full-time for five years.
“With export we have to have a certain amount ready by a time we can’t change because we have booked flights already, so it means we are out collecting the bees out of our hives in weather and conditions we usually wouldn’t work them in, so it has been a bit of a challenge.”
Despite working in uncomfortable weather conditions, Ben is hoping to collect two palettes of 320 five-pound boxes of bees to transport to the US with the second palette leaving Sydney bound for San Francisco today.
Ben has been working with bees since he started helping his father as a teenager, and made the decision to go full-time five years ago.
This is the first year he has exported bees for pollination services and while honey is still his main line of business, the market slump has brought a need to diversify, something Ben has taken on to great success.