WESTERN PRODUCER — Canadian honey exports to the United States have ground to a halt under a new 50 per cent tariff, but industry leaders say a short crop, strong domestic demand and a rush of pre-tariff shipping should soften the hit this season.
The U.S. imposed the tariff on Canadian honey, along with dairy, alcohol, wool and other goods, on Aug. 22 after cross-border trade talks broke down. Ottawa is responding in kind, applying a matching 50 per cent counter-tariff on American honey starting Sept. 8, part of a broader package of retaliatory duties on $27.6 billion in U.S. goods.
Industry sources say the immediate effect on the U.S. side has been straightforward: sales have simply stopped.
“Our sales to the U. S. will be at zero until the tariffs come off,” said Simon Lalonde, president of the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission.
Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, said American buyers appear to have walked away rather than push the added cost onto beekeepers.
“As far as I know, they have stopped, partly due to the tariff and partly due to the fact that many believe this will not last long,” he said.
“I do not see any honey moving stateside as importers do not have a dollar-a-pound margin,” he said.
A rush to beat the deadline
All three said a surge of shipping in the weeks before the tariff took effect has softened, for now, the cash-flow hit beekeepers might otherwise be facing.
U.S. packers, worried tariffs would drive up the price of Canadian honey, front-loaded their purchases into July and August rather than waiting until their usual buying window in November or December, Lalonde said.
That rush strained trucking capacity. Lalonde estimated at least 500,000 pounds of honey in Saskatchewan alone went unshipped simply because beekeepers could not book a truck, with carriers across the economy booked solid as exporters of all kinds tried to beat the tariff deadline.
The trucking shortage, and not lost contracts, is what kept some honey from crossing the border in time, Scarlett said.
“That definitely impacts cash flow for those who were caught in that position.”
The pre-tariff shipping window, combined with an early start to extraction, means short-term needs are largely covered, Gregory said.
“With upwards [of] one dollar per lb tariff costing, my guess is the short term needs are met as there was a lot of honey that crossed the border before the tariff was imposed as guys started extracting in the last two weeks of July and honey can immediately be shipped.”
None of the three said they had heard of a U.S. packer formally cancelling a signed contract.
“I have yet to hear of a contract cancellation,” Scarlett said.
Lalonde was skeptical of claims of lost sales more broadly, saying he would want to see proof of contracts signed before the tariffs were first floated in July. He noted that sales to the U.S. in late July and August were unusually high for that time of year: a sign that packers were stockpiling rather than losing interest.
Domestic market expected to absorb the loss
With a shorter-than-usual crop in Western Canada this year, all three said the domestic market should have room to take up much of the honey that would otherwise have gone south, though none expect it to fully offset the loss in overall revenue.
“With the short Canadian honey crop, and the amount of honey that has already been exported to the U.S., we anticipate strong demand from Canadian packers for remaining Canadian honey until the 2027 crop comes in,” Lalonde said, adding that beekeeper warehouse inventories will likely run lower than usual heading into next season.
He said a repeat of the “Buy Canadian” sentiment seen roughly 18 months ago could push prices up further, though not enough to offset the smaller crop.
“I should note that the slight up-tick in price will not be enough to off-set significantly lower honey crop (beekeeper total revenues will likely still be significantly lower for the year), although we hope the price increase will continue at a slow, gradual increase for years to come,” Lalonde said.
Scarlett agreed the domestic market can likely absorb the surplus, “with the co-operation of the government, businessesand the public,” but cautioned that a slow U.S. honey crop this year could mean lost opportunity for Canadian exporters longer term as American demand for imported honey rises just as the border effectively closes.
Little impact expected from Canada’s counter-tariff
Unlike the U.S. duty, the beekeepers said Canada’s reciprocal 50 per cent tariff on American honey, taking effect Sept. 8, is unlikely to move the needle much domestically.
Scarlett was similarly unconvinced the counter-tariff carries much weight for the sector.
“The retaliatory tariff will have very little impact on the honey prices or availability,” he said.
“For our sector, this is not a dollar-for-dollar retaliation, it is a small fraction of the hurt it could cause Canadian beekeepers.”
Asked what federal support would matter most right now, the three offered different answers.
Lalonde pointed to promotion rather than direct payments.
“A marketing campaign for ‘buy local’, ‘check the label’ or ‘support Canadian businesses’ would be the absolute best support the federal government could provide to the Canadian beekeeping industry,” he said, estimating that Canadians eating even a quarter pound more honey per person a year could offset the entire lost U.S. market.
He said beekeepers are otherwise proceeding with normal management decisions and hive counts heading into winter, though a year of tariffs at 50 per cent could start to bite.
“If tariffs are still at 50 per cent 12 months from now, this could start to impact beekeepers,” Lalonde said.
Gregory pointed to existing federal programs rather than new ones.
“Cash flow will be handled by the federal APP (Advance Payment Program), which offers $1 million (first $250,000 interest free),” he said.
“The moderately improved AgriStability will help beekeepers that have good margin.”
He said he doesn’t expect a new emergency program soon.
“I do not anticipate an ad hoc program right away as the tariff situation is quite fluid. Anyone’s guess what Trump will tweet the next evening or the next week,” Gregory said.
Scarlett’s top request was regulatory: tighter federal testing of imported honey to weed out adulterated products.
“The results need to be issued publicly in a timely fashion along with the consequences, hopefully destruction of the product at the importers cost,” he said.
About the author
Reporter
Miranda Leybourne is a Glacier FarmMedia reporter based in Neepawa, Manitoba with eight years of journalism experience, specializing in agricultural reporting. Born in northern Ontario and raised in northern Manitoba, she brings a deep, personal understanding of rural life to her storytelling.
A graduate of Assiniboine College’s media production program, Miranda began her journalism career in 2007 as the agriculture reporter at 730 CKDM in Dauphin. After taking time off to raise her two children, she returned to the newsroom once they were in full-time elementary school. From June 2022 to May 2024, she covered the ag sector for the Brandon Sun before joining Glacier FarmMedia. Miranda has a strong interest in organic and regenerative agriculture and is passionate about reporting on sustainable farming practices. You can reach Miranda at mleybourne@farmmedia.com.
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