Swiss beekeepers report below-average honey harvest

The long-term average honey harvest is around 20kg per bee colony per year. Keystone-SDA

The honey harvest is projected to be lower than usual this year, as Swiss beekeepers report harvesting an average of just 16kg of honey per bee colony, says the beekeeper umbrella group apisuisse.

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By comparison, in 2023, the Swiss harvested just over 17kg of honey per bee colony. The long-term average is around 20kg per bee colony per year.

Apisuisse attributes this decline mainly to the onset of winter-like conditions in the second half of April. After a good March and a summery first half of April, the bees stayed in their hives and drew on their reserves.

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Foraging flights were not possible in these weather conditions. The month of May was also largely gloomy.

A total of 738 beekeepers from Switzerland and Liechtenstein took part in the apisuisse survey.

Adapted from French with DeepL/gw

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