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HONEY
March 1, 2002

USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service   |  1222 Woodward Street   |  Orlando, Florida 32803   |  407 / 648-6013


FLORIDA: Honey production in 2001 was 22,000,000 pounds, down ten percent from 2000. Florida ranked third in production behind California, and North Dakota. There were 220,000 colonies in Florida in 2001 with an average honey yield of 100 pounds per colony, five pounds less than in 2000.  Producers received an average of 62 cents per pound for the honey, up eight cents per pound from the previous year. The value of Florida honey production in 2001 was $13.6 million, up from the 2000 value of $13.2 million.

FLORIDA: Number of Colonies, Honey Production, Value, and Stocks, 1992-2001
Year Colonies
of
bees 1/
Honey
Yield per
colony
Prodution Price
per pound
Value Stocks
Dec 15 2/
  1,000 colonies Pounds 1,000 pounds Cents 1,000 dollars 1,000 pounds
1992 220 104 22,880 53 12,126 2,517
1993 200 113 22,600 50 11,300 2,712
1994 230 84 19,320 47 9,080 2,898
1995 230 86 19,780 64 12,659 1,780
1996 240 105 25,200 86 21,672 2,268
1997 240 67 16,080 73 11,738 2,734
1998 230 98 22,540 64 14,426 4,508
1999 228 102 23,256 53 12,326 4,186
2000 232 105 24,360 54 13,154 2,923
2001 220 100 22,000 62 13,640 3,432
1/ Operations with 5 or more colonies.
2/ Stocks in producers' hands.

UNITED STATES: Honey production in 2001 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 186 million pounds, down 16 percent from 2000. Honey production in 2001 was the lowest since 1989, when 181 million pounds was produced with a yield per colony of only 51.2 pounds. There were 2.51 million colonies producing honey in 2001, down 4 percent from 2000. Yield per colony averaged 74.0 pounds, down 10.1 pounds from the 84.1 pounds in 2000. Colonies which produced honey in more than one State were counted in each State and yields per colony may therefore be understated. Colonies were not included if honey was not harvested. Producer honey stocks were 64.8 million pounds on December 15, 2001, down24 percent from a year earlier. Stocks held by producers exclude stocks held under the commodity loan program.

  Prices for the 2001 crop averaged 66.9 cents per pound, up 12 percent from 59.7 cents in 2000. Prices are based on retail sales by producers and sales to private processors and cooperatives. State level honey prices reflect the portions of honey sold through retail, co-op and private channels. U.S. honey prices for each color class are derived by weighing quantities sold for each marketing channel at the U.S. level. Honey prices for 2001 were higher than the previous year for all marketing channels and all color classes except 'All Other Honey, Area Specialties' .

UNITED STATES: Number of Colonies, Honey Production, Value and Stocks, 1992-2001
Year Colonies
of bees 1/
Honey
Yield
per colony
Production Price per
pound 2/
Value Stocks
Dec 15 3/
  1,000 colonies Pounds 1,000 pounds Cents 1,000 dollars 1,000 pounds
1992 3,030 72.8 220,584 55.0 121,321 38,933
1993 2,875 80.2 230,575 53.9 124,280 49,046
1994 2,783 78.4 218,187 52.8 115,203 59,877
1995 2,655 79.5 211,073 68.5 144,585 42,313
1996 2,581 77.3 199,511 88.8 177,166 47,206
1997 2,631 74.7 196,536 75.2 147,795 70,696
1998 2,633 83.7 220,316 65.5 147,254 80,808
1999 2,688 76.4 205,250 60.1 126,075 79,375
2000 4/ 2,620 84.1 220,339 59.7 132,742 85,328
2001 5/ 2,513 74.0 185,926 66.9 127,060 64,750
1/ Operations with 5 or more colonies.
2/ Weighted by reported sales.
3/ Stocks in producers' hands.
4/ Revised.
5/ Preliminary.

UNITED STATES: Honey Prices by Color Class and Buyer, 2000 and 2001
Color class Co-op and Private Retail All
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
  Cents per pound
Water white, extra white, and white 56.3 65.0 114.5 125.4 58.2 66.5
Extra light amber 56.0 64.0 121.7 130.7 60.7 66.9
Light amber, amber, and  dark  amber 49.8 59.8 141.9 152.2 60.1 66.6
All other honey, area specialties 63.2 59.8 175.2 152.5 92.9 78.7
All honey 55.1 63.3 130.4 140.6 59.7 66.9


HONEY: Number of Colonies, Production, Stocks, and Value, 2000-2001 1/
State Number of
colonies
Yield per
colony
Production Stocks
Dec 15 2/
Average price
per pound
Value of
production
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
  1,000 colonies Pounds 1,000 pounds Cents 1,000 dollars
Alabama 16 14 78 73 1,248 1,022 187 235 59 71 736 726
Arizona 40 43 59 59 2,360 2,537 1,322 1,142 73 78 1,723 1,979
Arkansas 55 58 93 98 5,115 5,655 3,529 1,872 57 66 2,916 3,732
California 440 425 70 65 30,800 27,625 11,396 7,735 59 67 18,172 18,509
Colorado 29 26 60 55 1,740 1,430 957 529 62 70 1,079 1,001
Florida 232 220 105 100 24,360 22,000 2,923 3,432 54 62 13,154 13,640
Georgia 55 55 57 57 3,135 3,135 376 188 63 70 1,975 2,195
Hawaii 7 8 112 87 784 696 125 84 82 85 643 592
Idaho 100 100 47 46 4,700 4,600 2,679 1,610 52 66 2,444 3,036
Illinois 8 6 61 76 488 456 146 251 117 172 571 784
Indiana 8 8 65 76 520 608 286 213 103 86 536 523
Iowa 30 33 67 51 2,010 1,683 1,206 875 68 73 1,367 1,229
Kansas 15 13 68 51 1,020 663 520 530 91 85 928 564
Kentucky 3 3 48 78 144 234 40 94 135 131 194 307
Louisiana 43 45 94 106 4,042 4,770 1,334 572 52 60 2,102 2,862
Maine 11 11 21 20 231 220 143 106 75 70 173 154
Maryland 6 4 46 46 276 184 52 55 114 172 315 316
Michigan 72 76 75 60 5,400 4,560 2,970 2,827 60 78 3,240 3,557
Minnesota 150 135 90 81 13,500 10,935 3,105 1,859 57 63 7,695 6,889
Mississippi 17 17 72 66 1,224 1,122 649 224 69 60 845 673
Missouri 23 25 75 61 1,725 1,525 362 381 60 68 1,035 1,037
Montana 124 136 88 102 10,912 13,872 4,692 4,578 59 65 6,438 9,017
Nebraska 50 43 87 48 4,350 2,064 2,610 1,115 59 66 2,567 1,362
Nevada 10 11 35 50 350 550 95 44 145 201 508 1,106
New Jersey 11 11 35 34 385 374 200 71 61 82 235 307
New Mexico 15 15 64 70 960 1,050 739 525 72 65 691 683
New York 58 53 80 70 4,640 3,710 2,274 1,781 55 68 2,552 2,523
North Carolina 11 11 49 44 539 484 243 145 143 158 771 765
North Dakota 300 280 115 96 34,500 26,880 13,800 9,408 57 65 19,665 17,472
Ohio 18 16 65 81 1,170 1,296 585 505 79 85 924 1,102
Oklahoma 7 4 35 47 245 188 64 105 126 141 309 265
Oregon 48 44 51 44 2,448 1,936 1,665 1,200 66 69 1,616 1,336
Pennsylvania 22 17 45 57 990 969 554 514 76 87 752 843
South Dakota 235 235 121 65 28,435 15,275 12,796 12,220 58 64 16,492 9,776
Tennessee 9 9 61 59 549 531 104 147 143 137 785 727
Texas 105 97 79 79 8,295 7,663 2,986 1,533 57 64 4,728 4,904
Utah 24 23 41 38 984 874 462 315 60 65 590 568
Vermont 7 7 59 81 413 567 211 249 68 91 281 516
Virginia 7 9 42 52 294 468 103 94 150 117 441 548
Washington 52 42 54 52 2,808 2,148 1,151 917 58 67 1,629 1,463
West Virginia 7 7 54 65 378 455 234 410 122 155 461 705
Wisconsin 84 67 90 81 7,560 5,427 4,385 3,419 68 76 5,141 4,125
Wyoming 39 38 93 77 3,627 2,926 798 468 59 63 2,140 1,843
Other States 3/ 17 13 40 40 685 523 270 173 173 153 1,183 799
United States 4/ 2,620 2,513 84.1 74.0 220,339 185,926 85,328 64,750 59.7 66.9 132,742 127,060
1/ 2000 data revised.
2/ Does not include stocks under loan.
3/ CT, DE, MA, NH, RI , and SC not published separately to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.
4/ U.S. price weighted by survey expanded sales.


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