You may recall that the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) carried out a survey of our industry for the period 2014-15. As a follow up from that survey and to be able to have some data, AHBIC and Plant Health Australia (PHA) agreed that an annual survey would be useful in keeping an eye on the state of our industry.

PHA was successful in being funded by AgriFutures Australia to carry out this survey.

A short survey has been developed to find out how healthy Australian honey bees are, and what pests and diseases might be causing problems for beekeepers. The results from the survey will be used to decide what help beekeepers might need to keep their honey bees healthy. It will also provide statistics for use by the industry.

The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Plant Health Australia, and AgriFutures Australia, encourage all Australian beekeepers to take part in this survey, which will only take 10-12 minutes to complete. The survey can be found at http://bit.ly/BeeHealthSurvey

Survey closes December 14th 2018.

For more information go to http://beeaware.org.au/contact-us

Trevor Weatherhead AM
6 November, 2018

Download PDF letter here

AHBIC is taking this matter very seriously.

We need to know where these samples came from so we can trace them and take necessary action to prevent it happening again. At this time we have no detail as to which segment of the industry is involved.

We are talking with one of the researchers involved in the study to clarify the questions we have and he will be attending a scheduled meeting of AHBIC in the near future.

Right now, the reputation of all Australian honey has been collateral damage and tarnished in a study that found isolated cases of alleged adulterated honey.

We’re working with the Federal Government to discuss what options can be implemented on a national and independent way to protect our industry from issues that call into question the quality of Australian honey.

The 1500+ beekeepers around Australia who make a living from honey production, as well as the 22,000+ who keep bees for pleasure, are today caring for and tending their bees like they do every day. We keep working with our bees because we love it, and because we think Australian honey is the best in the world. We’re all hoping that we can rebuild consumer trust in honey, but we’re going to need government backing and support from honey-lovers to recover from this.

Peter McDonald
Chairman
9 October, 2018

Download Statement here (PDF 287KB)

One of the current Directors on the B-QUAL Board has indicated he is not available to be re-appointed at our AGM later this month. This will leave a vacancy on the Board.

If you are interested in becoming a Director on the B-QUAL Board please send me your details as to why you believe you would be suitable. Details on B-QUAL can be found at www.bqual.com.au

If you know of someone who may be suitable please pass this on to them.

With the recent media publicity on honey, Quality Assurance will become even a more important part of beekeeping in the future.

Trevor Weatherhead AM
Executive Director
5 October, 2018

Download letter here (PDF 224KB)