Honey is much more than a natural sweetener; it's a food used since the dawn of time for its many properties. Tasting honey is also tasting the richness of craftsmanship from regions all over the world. Each jar contains unique extraction or production methods specific to each country or family...
In this article, we invite you to travel the globe through the world of bees.
Major Honey-Producing Regions
1. Asia
Asia is the largest honey producer in the world. This is mainly due to countries like China, which alone accounts for 25% of global production. We also find India, which, with more artisanal production, produces 115,000 tons of honey per year.
Here are the top 3 honeys produced in this country:
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Eucalyptus honey in Southern India
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Mustard honey in Northern India
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Wild honey, highly prized and harvested in forests
With the same annual production as India, Turkey is also one of the continent's major producers.
It is known for the production of:
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Wildflower honey from the Anatolian mountains
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Pine honey
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Anzer honey, one of the most precious honeys in the world
Nepal also contributes to honey production through its ancestral techniques. This country is known for its rhododendron honey and its hallucinogenic effects.
Let's not forget Vietnam with its atypical honeys like Rambutan honey or Mangosteen honey.
2. Europe
Europe has one of the largest honey productions in the world. Countries such as Spain and Italy produce honeys with very floral notes, transporting us to summer. In Spain, we find orange blossom honey, mandarin honey, lemon tree honey, but also more unusual honeys like almond tree honey. This country produces 13% of the total honey production in Europe. The 4 regions most favorable to this production are Andalusia, Valencia, Extremadura, and the region of Castile and Leon. They alone account for 65% of national production.
Other countries also offer unique honeys with flavors typical of European regions. For example, Hungary, specializing in acacia honey production, Greece, known for its thyme honey, Germany, and Poland.
Let's not forget to mention another important honey producer in Europe: France.
With 62,744 beekeepers, France supplies consumers and lovers of this elixir through short supply chains. However, some varieties of plants or flowers are not present or are too scarce in France, which is why some honeys come from different countries.
Famille Perronneau is committed to guaranteeing its consumers raw products and a range of 100% monofloral honeys. They work with partner beekeepers from all over the world, allowing gourmands to discover unusual varieties of honey. We can mention avocado honey from Mexico or coffee blossom honey from Brazil. Each honey is analyzed in our laboratory, thus guaranteeing its floral appellation and the purity of the product.
The 3 most favorable regions for production are:
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Auvergne Rhône Alpes
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Occitania
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Nouvelle Aquitaine
3. North America
In the United States, beekeeping is very important, playing a major role in the pollination of apple, peach, and almond trees. Harvests vary greatly across the country due to differences in climate, beekeeping practices, and local flora.
Canada, on the other hand, owes its honey production primarily to the intensive cultivation of Canola, a typical Canadian plant belonging to the rapeseed family. Production is concentrated in the following regions:
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Alberta
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Manitoba
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Saskatchewan
Ontario also holds a strong position, as it alone accounts for 30% of the country's beekeepers.
In Mexico, beekeeping is a very important activity that has followed an artisanal process for thousands of years, especially among Mayan communities. Here, the activity is focused on stingless bees, Melipona beecheii. Honey, very important in Mayan culture, was used for its medicinal virtues and religious rites, such as for the preparation of Balché, an alcoholic beverage.
Today, we mainly find the bee we know in Europe, the Apis Mellifera bee. It was introduced to Mexico in the 17th century by Spanish colonizers.
Production is based on wild flower honey; the most suitable regions are those with tropical climates, thus we find the regions located in the East of the country.
Mexico is also known for its avocado honey, mainly from the state of Michoacán, which is the country's main avocado-producing region.
4. South America
With regions like the Pampa, Argentina is one of the most favorable countries for honey production in South America, significantly contributing to the country's beekeeping activity. The 5 most produced honey types in this region are: multifloral honey, eucalyptus honey, clover honey, sunflower honey, and rapeseed honey.
Let's not forget Brazil, which is also one of the main honey producers in the world, with a total of 50,000 tons produced each year. The particularity of beekeeping in this country is that it relies mainly on the Africanized bee. Resulting from the crossing of African and European bees, the Brazilian bee is much more productive and easily adapts to tropical conditions.
The 4 most produced honeys are eucalyptus honey, coffee blossom honey, marmeleiro honey, and wild flower honey.
5. Africa
In Africa, honey production is very varied, due to beekeeping practices that can differ greatly from one region to another. Primarily featuring artisanal practices, this continent is full of treasures and know-how that have existed for millennia.
Ethiopia leads with 50,000 tons of honey produced each year. Two main types of honey are found in this country:
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Forest honey, collected in natural forests
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Garden honey, collected in domestic hives
Although beekeeping is modernizing, traditions passed down from generation to generation are still strongly rooted. For example, the typical Ethiopian hive called a "hive box" is made from straw and wood.
Honey still plays an important role in religion in Ethiopia; it is used, notably in Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, to celebrate Epiphany and Easter.
6. Oceania
In Oceania, countries such as New Zealand and Australia are known for manuka honey. This honey is considered one of the most expensive and prized in the world. It has great antibacterial properties and is widely used in skincare.
Australia stands out by offering other equally atypical honeys such as macadamia honey, banksia honey, and laurel honey.
Honey Harvesting and Extraction Techniques
Honey extraction processes can vary considerably depending on the region. In developed countries, where modernity has already taken hold, extraction is often automated. This optimizes work while obtaining purified honey. In contrast, developing countries strongly rely on tradition to work and perpetuate their know-how.
Modern Farms
In modern farms, hives are equipped with easily removable frames. These contain honey but also other substances such as pollen, wax, and propolis. The honey is removed here by a centrifuge, which involves placing the frames in a machine rotating at high speed. The honey is then extracted by this process and filtered to remove residues.
Traditional Farms
Traditional harvesting methods are still dominant in many countries. For example, in Africa, specifically in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, hives are made from hollow tree trunks. In other regions, vegetable fiber hives are also found. In some areas, hives are made from clay to allow them to withstand the climate.
In Asia, particularly in tropical regions, bamboo is used to design hives, which are then suspended from trees.
In remote areas, harvests are sometimes very challenging and require a lot of preparation. We invite you to read our article on the bee photographer, Éric Tourneret, to discover his journey around the world.
Challenges and Issues in Honey Production
1. Bee Decline
The phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder threatens honey production. Pesticides, climate change, and diseases like varroa seriously affect bee populations.
2. Honey Fraud
Honey adulteration is a growing problem, particularly with products cut with sugar syrup or synthetic ingredients. This harms honest beekeepers and casts doubt on the quality of products on the market.
3. Sustainability
Overexploitation of natural resources to increase honey production threatens ecosystems. Promoting sustainable beekeeping practices is crucial.
Conclusion
Honey is a food consumed and used since ancient times, especially during religious rites or in medicine. Produced worldwide, its characteristics vary depending on the climate and the flora foraged.
Considered a treasure of nature, honey is also the result of an activity that must face environmental challenges and fraud. Indeed, pesticides and Varroa (parasitic mite) greatly threaten bees. It should also be noted that urbanization, intensive farming, and deforestation also destroy many natural habitats. It is therefore important to support committed beekeepers using sustainable practices.
Fraud is also spreading worldwide, allowing very competitive prices to be offered on the market. However, these products are not pure; many are blends of artificial honeys or contain added sugar.
Aware of these challenges, we are committed to sustaining environmentally friendly beekeeping by considering the available flora for our bees and also paying attention to the soils where we place our hives. We also practice transhumance only at night, allowing bees to benefit from the diverse terroirs of all regions without disturbing them. Of course, every honey we offer is 100% pure, and each production is analyzed in our laboratory to ensure its floral appellation and a quality product.
Thus, by savoring each spoonful of honey, we contribute to the preservation of this magnificent sweet treasure and the intense work behind it.
