Waikato beekeeper shifts focus to kiwifruit pollination amid honey glut

The bulk of beekeeper Matt Crawford's income is generated from pollination. Photo / Duncan Brown

A Waikato beekeeper has come full circle in what is an increasingly unpredictable business.

Matt Crawford said limited returns for honey meant the bulk of his income was being generated, once again, from pollination.

Based at Okauia, near Matamata, Crawford and his wife Maxine run Golden Flow Apiaries, which has about 1600 hives, now chiefly pollinating kiwifruit orchards in the Western Bay of Plenty, rather than producing honey in the Waikato.

He has been involved in the bee business for 17 years, starting out working for Golden Flow’s original owner Bryce Hooton.

Crawford progressively bought a greater shareholding in the Okauia operation and took over full ownership seven years ago.

Beekeeping was booming at that time, with Golden Flow Apiaries growing from 1400 to 2500 hives at its peak.

Pollination was a major part of the business originally, but Crawford said this “took a toll” on the hives and a move was made to produce mānuka honey.

But, with returns falling amid an ongoing national honey glut, he returned to pollination, which now makes up more than 70% of the company’s income.

“Five years ago, we were a 100% honey,” he said.

He said it was simply a question of cash flow.

Happy balance

Matt Crawford carefully handling one of his hives at Golden Flow Apiaries. Photo / Steve Edwards

“We had to find a happy balance, or we would’ve been out of business two years ago.”

Like many of his fellow beekeepers, Crawford had been selling surplus honey “sitting in the shed” for the past 3 to 4 years.

He said there had been a national over-supply, particularly of mānuka honey, which had exceeded market demand over the past five years.

A 300kg drum of mānuka honey which once fetched $120 would now return just $20 “if you’re lucky”.

Crawford said demand had increased for “table honey”, which fetches $7/kg compared to $3/kg three years ago.

However, he said most beekeepers in the honey trade saw their costs rise while their incomes had “gone backwards”.

Crawford knew of several who had simply “shut up shop” altogether.

“The hobbyists are gone. The whole industry has changed. You have to adapt to survive.”

Crawford does believe however that the honey trade is “on the up” and getting back to similar levels to when he first started.

“We are just making a living. It’s more a lifestyle.”

Golden Flow Apiaries has three full-time employees, plus Maxine and Crawford’s father Maurice on a part-time basis.

The operation, on a half-hectare at Okauia, has an extracting plant to help with honey harvesting.

Full frames are collected from hives and 24 at a time are put through a spinner to separate honey from beeswax.

The honey is then filtered and put into vats, before going into sealed drums ready for trucking to Hamilton-based Honey New Zealand.

Safe Storage

Matt Crawford, of Golden Flow Apiaries, has been involved in the bee business for 17 years. Photo / Steve Edwards

Crawford said honey for the table was best stored in a cool, dark cupboard or pantry.

Beeswax can be used to make products including candles and lip balm.

Registered hive numbers in New Zealand have reportedly fallen from a high of 918,000 in 2019 to 601,000 at the last report.

North Island numbers have gone from 694,000 to 418,000 in that time.

Crawford said the existing stockpile of honey, coupled with increased competition in global markets, had, however, continued to create challenges for processing companies.

Te Puke-based Comvita recently reported a full-year loss of $77.4 million, citing a downturn in sales to China and North America.

Kiwifruit orchards

On the other side of the equation, Crawford said kiwifruit orchards were on the increase and with their reliance on bees to produce a crop, Bay of Plenty growers were having to go further and further afield to find hives.

He knew of some beekeepers even making the trip down from Northland to the Bay of Plenty last season to help meet demand.

Kiwifruit orchards have reportedly increased 12.5% from 12,905 producing hectares in 2019/20 to 14,512ha in 2022/23.

Crawford said this meant 1607ha of new orchards that required beehives, at an average of 10-12 hives a hectare.

Bay of Plenty is home to by far the largest area of kiwifruit orchards, with 11,429ha.

The pollination schedule sees Crawford drop off hives at orchards in late October.

There are 8-10 hives per canopy hectare, with his bees serving both the gold and green varieties of kiwifruit.

Crawford said hives, which return between $190 and $250 each, were usually left at the orchards for a couple of weeks before collection.

He said kiwifruit was particularly reliant on insect pollinators as its male and female flowers were located on separate plants.

During spring, when the flowers begin to open, Crawford said the bees and orchard managers worked hard to ensure successful pollination in the orchards.