This project was funded by the National Varroa Transition to Management Program on behalf of their members and managed by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council.  

Executive Summary

This report on the Australian queen bee sector was funded under the National Varroa Transition to Management Program. It was to profile the sector, identify barriers to growth and deliver actionable recommendations. 

The queen bee sector consists of queen breeders who practice genetic selection, queen producers who mass produce queens, and queen buyers – commercial beekeepers, recreational beekeepers and overseas beekeeping industries. Products range from queen cells which sell from as little as $8 through to artificially inseminated breeder queens priced at $2,000 or more.  

The industry is nationally distributed with the population of queen suppliers (breeders and producers) aligning with the number of hives in each state. The largest number of beekeeping operations is found in northern NSW and southern QLD.  

There is no published data on the number of participants in the industry or the value of the sector. The best estimate of size and value is 63 queen suppliers and a gross value of production (GVP) of $8.8 million. The Australian Queen Bee Breeders Association (AQBBA) reports that GVP may be as high as $17.6 million. 

Queen Sector Analysis Report Click Here