1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Crop and Market Report 



335 



Compiled bj M. G. Dadant 



For our August issue we asked reporters to write us on 

 the following questions: 



1. How is the honey crop so far? 



2. What are the prospects for the balance of the year? 



3. How is honey selling? Are there any big buyers, 

 and what are they offering for comb and extracted? 



4. What should No. 1 comb honey retail for? What 

 should the price be for 5-lb. pails of extracted? For 10- 

 Ib. pails? 



5. What, in your opinion, should be the jobbing price 

 this fall for amber and white extracted? Of comb honey, 

 No. 1 and No. 2? 



THE HONEY CROP 

 Southern New England reports a very good crop, 

 whereas the northern part has only half a crop. New 

 York reports are from fair to poor, indicating that the 

 crop will not be large, and the same is true throughout 

 the rest of the East. 



In Georgia and Florida the crop has been light, prob- 

 ably half a crop, while in Mississippi and Alabama, though 

 the crop is not large, it is well above last season, when 

 the sweet clover failed. Louisiana, starting poor, has had 

 a most remarkable flow. Tennessee and Kentucky nave 

 been fairly well favored, especially in the east portions, 

 and the same applies to the Carolinas and Virginias. 



Ohio seems to have had a very good crop, with poor 

 crops in Indiana. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan 

 are very poor, especially in the southern half of these 

 States, where the drought has been severe. Illinois will 

 have very little white surplus honey. Iowa is poor in 

 the ea.tem half, with a fairly good crop in the western, 

 though cut down by drought. Missouri has a fair crop 

 and Kansas, Nebraska and Dakota only fair, with Ne- 

 braska the best of the three. 



It is too early yet for any data on the intermountain 

 territory, though indications are for a fair crop, nothing 

 phenomenal. 



Texas started in with much discouragement, but mes- 

 quite has yielded this year as of old, and reports are now 

 that normal conditions will be attained. 



Washington and Oregon are only fair, with North Cali- 

 fornia good. In Southern California there has been much 

 discouragement. Early, it was entirely too dry, and rains 

 came too late to do the sages the most good. Indications 

 are for not more than one-third crop, and possibly less, 

 with many failures. 



Basing opinion on reports, the dry weather has hurt 

 many localities and the flow should not be as good as last 

 year. Even though there may be more bees in the coun- 

 try, the total crop of honey should not be nearly up to 

 last year. 



Canada, especially Ontario, is having an excellent crop. 



PROSPECTS 



In very few locations are prospects excellent for the 

 balance of the year, running mostly from poor to fair. 



SALES AND BUYERS 



Honey sales are slow in most localities. Report is made 

 of one car of white Idaho honey being sold at 10 cents 

 f. o. b. New York. The Texas Association has reduced its 

 price to a basis of 9 cents for extracted and reports fair 

 sales at that price, with much pushing necessary to make 

 the honey go. 



One or two offers have been made by large buyers on a 

 basis of $4.50 for No. 1 comb and 8 cents for white ex- 

 tracted, with little disposition to sell at this figrure jobbing 

 just at present. 



RETAIL PRICES 



The consensus of opinion is that No. 1 comb honey 

 should not sell for less than 30 cents per section, retail, in 

 the section of production, which means that if there is 

 any effort made to maintain a uniform price, the price 

 should be put at at least 35 cents per section. Demand 



during 1920 was great for comb honey, greater than the 

 supply, and it should not be difllicult to clean up this 

 year's production at Remunerative prices. 



The lowest price suggested on extracted honey was 75 

 cents for 5-lb. pails and $1.40 for 10-lb. The same re- 

 porter suggested a 10-cent price jobbing for white honey. 

 These prices are hardly in line, since it is generally agreed 

 that the retail price should be double the jobbing price, 

 cost of containers to be added. Basing our figures on 10- 

 cent honey, the 5's should sell for $1.10 to $1.25 and the 

 lO's from $2.10 to $2.25. 



In reality, the general run of prices suggested were $1 

 for 5-lb. and $2 for 10-lb:, with a suggestion of shading 

 of prices of the lO's to $1.90. It seems that the above 

 prices are not any too high. 



JOBBING PRICES 

 The lowest price suggested for comb was $3.50 for No. 

 2 and $3.75 for No. 1. This must have been for the 

 amber comb, however, for a majority of prices suggested 

 were about $4.75 for No. 2 and $5.50 for No. 1, with the 

 very best white alfalfa-sweet clover held possibly 50 

 cents per case higher. These prices are f. o. b. shipping 

 point. 



Undoubtedly the amount of comb honey produced in 

 the East and Middle West will be a minimum this year, 

 owing to the peculiarities of the honey flows, which have 

 not been conducive to comb-honey production. 



Wide variation is seen in the prices for extracted. The 

 lowest prices suggested are 6 cents for amber and 8 

 cents for white, and i-ange up to 20 cents for white, 

 some evidently having been out of touch with the markets 

 since early last fall. 



Most of the suggestions centered around a price of 

 from 7 to 9 cents for amber and 9 to 12 cents for best 

 white extracted, f. o. b. shipping point. 



Present indications would not warrant optimism on 

 honey prices. Sugar has reached the extreme low price 

 of $5.25 in the New York markets, while honey has shown 

 an inclination to drop slowly in price with each weekly 

 price sheet sent out by commission mpn. Also the .itti- 

 tude of the buying public has been clearly not to buy any- 

 thing except what is actually needed. 



On the other hand, the cloud has a silver lining. Honey 

 certainly has tobogganed as much as other farm prod- 

 ucts, and statisticians tell us that we may Inol. for a jrrad- 

 ual incline in farm prices till they reach a remunerative 

 and stable basis. 



There is also a dearth of ifuits. The sweet demand 

 should in part be supplied by sabstitutiiig honey. Maple 

 products are also the shortest in years. 



The new proposed duty on honey is 2 \^ cents a pound. 

 There are already indications that West Indian honey is 

 seeking European markets. The duty would have theim- 

 mediate effect, if enforced, of raising the domestic price 

 in proDortion, especially immediately after the rate went 

 into effect. 



More than anything else, aov/ever, the price of honey 

 will be governed by the beekeepers themselves, whether 

 they throw their honey on the mai-ket quickly for what 

 they can get, or pursue a more sane and safe policy and 

 let honey come on the jobbing markets as slowly as pos- 

 sible, so as to create a demand on the part of the jobbers, 

 rather than throw the oflfers at theTu. 



In a retail way, the sooner honey is pushed, the better. 

 No efforts should be lost to push local sales at good sub- 

 stantial prices, and no effort should be los" to keep the 

 market regularly supplied throughout the year. 



Experienced salesmen tell us that one trouble with the 

 honey price situation is that the loi'al markets are glut- 

 ted during five months only to be bare and unsolicited 

 during the balance of the year, a condition which will not 

 be conducive to putting honey on the list of staple prod- 

 ucts instead of luxuries. 



Honey, except possibly comb, is not a perishable prod- 

 uct, does not deteriorate with six months holding, and 

 should not be so treated by the beekeeper. 



