We cannot produce enough honey for the demand in the UK, we produce approximately four thousand tonnes and import twenty thousand tonnes per year. Yields of honey from bees in the UK are low compared to that of other countries around the world and that is why home produced honey commands a higher price.

Bees are an essential part of the pollination process and are very important contributors to food production worldwide. It is estimated that the increase in the value of crops due to honeybees is £12 million in the UK, and £6 billion throughout Europe - that's £6,000,000,000!!!

In the mid 1990s an estimated 2.5 million colonies of honeybees were maintained in the United States. Although more than 125,000 people owned one or more hives, only about 2400 earned a full-time living from keeping bees. The states of California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Florida, and Minnesota led the nation in honey production. Average commercial production is about 40 kg (about 80 lb) of honey per colony, and 9 to 18 kg (20 to 40 lb) of beeswax for every ton of honey harvested.

China, the United States, Argentina, Ukraine, and Mexico are the world's leading honey-producing countries. The leading exporters are China, Argentina, and Mexico. The leading importers are Germany, the United States, and Japan. In recent years, U.S. imports of honey have exceeded exports.