HONEY BEE & POLLINATION

Pollination Australia – Education and Training

  • 90 pages

  • Published: 4 Jun 2008

  • Author(s): Brous, David

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Pollination services are the paid use of domestic honeybees to pollinate crops. Australia currently has a very small market for pollination services, with an estimated 200,000 hives being used for paid pollination. Feral honeybees and incidental pollination provided by honey producers supply the remaining needs for pollination of Australian pollination-dependent crops.
This report examines the market for pollination services in Australia and how it is expected to evolve over time under three scenarios:-business as usual (where there is some growth in demand with expansion of some pollination dependant crops); a Varroa incursion (that raises supply costs and sparks a massive increase in demand); and this same scenario but where industry is proactive to improve the responsiveness of supply.
The report provides an assessment of the prices and access to pollination services for the major honeybee pollination dependent industries. It should inform the development of the business plan for the proposed industry alliance, Pollination Australia, made up of agricultural industries and the honeybee industry.