WESTERN PRODUCER — American beekeepers are not worried about honey imports from Canada.
They’re more concerned about massive volumes of honey from Brazil, India and Argentina, along with fake honey from multiple origins.
“The 11 million pounds they (importers) bring in (from Canada) is so small. It’s like a hiccup,” said Chris Hiatt, former president of the American Honey Producers Association.
Hiatt, who manages about 20,000 hives in Bowman, North Dakota, and Madera, California, said his organization has nothing to do with the recent 50 per cent tariffs on Canadian honey.
The association didn’t lobby for it because it isn’t a priority for American beekeepers.
“We were not pushing for this.”
Last year, the United States imported about 562 million lb. of honey, which represents 74 per cent of American’s honey supply, says apimondia.org.
The bulk of the imports come from India, Argentina, Brazil and Vietnam.
In 2025, Canadian imports were only 11.8 million pounds, or two per cent of the total.
Hiatt and other beekeepers are more concerned about honey imports from countries such as Brazil. Canada really isn’t on the radar.
Much of the honey from Brazil is labelled as “organic,” but Hiatt says that label is invalid.
“A lot of this organic honey coming in is not organic,” he said.
“There’s as much Roundup and miticides in their honey as ours.”
American honey producers are also worried about fake or adulterated honey, which is manufactured in China and allegedly shipped to the U.S. through countries such as Vietnam.
Will the tariffs stick around?
Other American beekeepers, including a honey producer near the U.S.-Canada border, said the 50 per cent tariff on Canadian honey could be temporary, lasting possibly a month or less.
This is part of Trump’s negotiating style, where he uses random tariffs to get the “attention” of another country, said one beekeeper.
At the moment, American beekeepers are not focused on tariffs. They’re more worried about a poor honey crop in 2026 because it’s been hot and dry in many regions of the U.S. this summer, including North Dakota.
“People are saying it could be one of the lowest hohey years on record, below 100 million lb. produced,” Hiatt said.
American honey packers will need more imported honey to fill the void.
However, if the 50 per cent tariffs remain in place, those imports will not come from Canada.
About the author
Reporter
Robert Arnason is a reporter with The Western Producer and Glacier Farm Media. Since 2008, he has authored nearly 5,000 articles on anything and everything related to Canadian agriculture. He didn’t grow up on a farm, but Robert spent hundreds of days on his uncle’s cattle and grain farm in Manitoba. Robert started his journalism career in Winnipeg as a freelancer, then worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Nipawin, Saskatchewan and Fernie, BC. Robert has a degree in civil engineering from the University of Manitoba and a diploma in LSJF – Long Suffering Jets’ Fan.
