Canadian honey farmers fear sting of China's canola tariffs

The owner of a northern Manitoba honey farm says Canadian producers are in a sticky situation as China's tariffs on Canadian canola could mean less food for bees this year.

Steven Larocque and his family have operated Arctic Gold Honey in Thompson for about seven years, producing around 1,300 to 2,200 kilograms of honey a year.

Arctic Gold Honey's bees don't pollinate canola as they make their honey, but Larocque says China's 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola exports — imposed last month in response to Canada's duties on electric vehicles, aluminum and steel — will sting other honey producers.

While Canada's honey industry hasn't been subject to any specific tariffs, bees gather nectar — a primary food source — and pollen from the flowers of the canola plant, which in turn can produce benefits for the canola, according to a provincial fact sheet.

But "if you're impacted as a canola farmer, and you know that you can't sell that canola, [you're] not going to seed canola in that field," Larocque told CBC News on Wednesday.

"If they're not planting those kinds of crops, where are the bees going to go and make honey?"

Larocque said his business will, however, feel the pinch of Canada's trade war with the U.S. in packaging materials, since it would be difficult to find other sources for the 500 cases of jars he imports from the U.S. each year.

"It's not like you can buy them from a different supplier for cheaper," he said. "The problem with, say, places like Amazon is that it's not consistent. You may be able to get containers one time, but next time, they could be sold out."

He hopes to stockpile packaging materials so he can maintain consistent shelf prices over the next year or two.

"At the end of the day, it all comes down to [whether] the customer is going to pay that price for that jar of honey, regardless of how much is taxed from different avenues."

The executive director of the Canadian Honey Council says the potential of U.S. tariffs on Canadian honey exports is also causing anxiety among honey farmers, as tariffs would "probably decimate" their market.

Any major trade disruptions to Canada's honey industry would be "felt dramatically" on the Prairies, said Rod Scarlett.

"If we can't displace that market, then that production that beekeepers have on the Prairies either may not get sold or may have to get sold at dramatically lower prices, which is below the cost of production, which then jeopardizes the operation completely."

Manitoba accounted for 19 per cent of the 92 million pounds (roughly 41 million kilograms) of honey produced across Canada in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.