Chair Quarterly Report January 2026

Happy New Year to the beekeeping community, I hope that you managed a few days off. Christmas and New Year is always a busy time for beekeepers to fit in, I wish that it fell in Winter!

Our thoughts go to those doing it tough with drought, flood or fires, it can be hard to envisage the end when in the middle of hard times. Talking to your mates is vital, especially in the beekeeping industry where we often spend a lot of time alone in the bush.

Anecdotally, honey production has been average nationally. Reports vary from being terrible to average with the odd hot spot producing well. The price has risen slightly but still needs to jump further for the stability of the sector. Stockpiles have diminished, however production has kept up with demand, for now.

Imported honey

Due to AHBIC’s advocacy, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) are currently investigating the protocols for importing honey into Australia. The current import protocols are outdated and need reform. DAFF have been great to work with and are very understanding of our concerns. We await further developments.

Transition to Management (T2M)

Almost all previous Australian T2M programs for other industries have only been for 12 months historically. AHBIC is very proud to be able to break this pattern and was instrumental in negotiating a 24-month T2M package. The program is coming to an end with some states still active for a short time and others have finished.

The graph below demonstrates the extent of the engagement to the sector nationally to date, with still some figures to add to finalise.

Type	Participants	Engagements	Percentage
In Field/ Apiary	8,002	4,667	55%
Presentations/ workshops	13,861	1,733	21%
Email/ Phone calls	1,562	2,039	24%
Totals	23,425	8,439	100%

Thank you to all the state team managers and trainers that have helped beekeepers get up to speed in this difficult time. A thank you to Bianca Giggins who has done an exceptional job managing the VDO program, as the national extension coordinator, and also overseeing the entire T2M program on behalf of the industry. Bianca will continue her work with AHBIC in the future, focusing primarily on industry biosecurity.

Can you imagine being a beekeeper in America in the 80’s, “Varroa mite, what’s that? Oh and we only have one type of chemical treatment??”

Australia is fortunate to be the last major beekeeping country in the world to receive Varroa, we have a range of modes of action in our toolkit, as well as knowledge from the rest of the world.

The biggest takeaway from the T2M, in my view, is the importance of providing a service to ourselves, our fellow beekeepers, and future generations: ROTATE YOUR CHEMICAL CLASSES! Australia has been ‘gifted’ with a mite that proves to be not resistant to acaracides. Let’s learn from the rest of the world and do it better!

AgriFutures

During the AHBIC AGM last year, our member bodies participated in a workshop held by AgriFutures and their consultants to help gather information to develop The Australian Honey Bee & Pollination RD&E Plan 2026-2030. Since the AGM, AHBIC have been working closely with AgriFutures to provide input and recommendations. AHBIC believe this strategic plan is a vital document to guide the AgriFutures team on how our levy money would be best spent to benefit our industry.

I look forward to meeting with the AgriFutures management team next week to discuss national industry issues and how they can continue to work with AHBIC and industry.

Moving forward

As well as day to day business, AHBIC will continue to work on the levy reform. As previously explained, the proposed levy changes aim to be fairer for beekeepers by spreading the collection to a wider group and generating more revenue for our vital industry programs.

One current example of our levy money at work can be seen in the current attempt to eradicate the Red Dwarf Honey Bee, which host the dreaded Euvarroa, which had been detected in the Burrup Peninsula of Western Australia. The eradication attempt has been active since 2023, it is looking positive as a proof of freedom is now being worked towards.

Next month the AHBIC team have a face-to-face Executive meeting and internal workshop in Lismore. Apart from the AHBIC AGM, this is the only other time that the entire team will meet in person to discuss current topics and issues.

I wish you well for the year ahead.

Jon Lockwood

Chair