- Man and sweet, nutritious honey are so inextricably bound together that in Britain it is even said that "the history of honey is the history of man" Beekeeping has ancient roots and dates back to around 5,000B.C. Modern beekeeping in Japan began in the mid-19th century with the import of Western honeybees. Non-stationary beekeeping, in which the bees migrate in search of flowers, is the norm in Japan. The disadvantage of this method is the high cost, and producers have been completely overwhelmed by low-cost imports of honey produced mainly by the stationary-style of beekeeping.
- The color, taste and scent of honey vary depending on the floral sources visited by the bees. Pale honey with a light taste obtained from acacia and lotus blossom is commonest in Japan, but in Europe, types of honey with a distinctive scent are preferred, such as linden honey, an almost black German honey, and heather honey, an English honey with a distinctive fragrance. Around 300 varieties of flower are suitable as floral sources for honey, and naturally produced honey reflects the local conditions and climate in a country. The five most typical types of honey are described below :
- Acacia honey : A honey with a light taste and refined scent. It tends not to crystallize, and is produced in China, Romania and Hungary, and Akita in Japan.
- Orange blossom honey : A honey with a refreshing bittersweet flavor. It is produced in Spain, Mexico, and the U.S.A., and Kyushu and Shikoku in Japan.
- Buckwheat honey : A honey with a strong smell and a taste similar to brown sugar. Areas of production are China, and Hokkaido and Shinetsu in Japan.
- Lotus honey : A honey with a mellow, sweet flavor and a faint smell of flowers. It is produced in China and Sanyo, Sanin and Kyushu in Japan.
- Clover honey : The most widely produced and well-known type of honey. It is produced in Canada, the U.S.A., Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, and Hokkaido in Japan.
- Honey output has fallen every year from a peak in 1965 of 8,495 tons. The factors underlying this decline include the aging of beekeepers, a shortage of successors, meadows visited by bees being turned into residential districts, competition from imports, and increases in unit costs of production.
- Annual consumption of honey is currently 40,000 tons. Exports in 1997 were approximately 68 tons and imports 34,318 tons. Domestic production was thus only 5,682 tons. Approximately 86 percent was imported and 14 percent produced domestically. For the reasons described in above 3, growth in domestic production appears highly unlikely, and Japan will become increasingly dependent on imports of honey.
- In addition to being spread straight onto toast and pancakes and poured on yogurt, honey is increasingly being used for other uses such as in cakes to retain moisture and add flavor and sweetness. It has also recently become popular as a health food, although consumption is no longer on the massive scale seen in 1990 and the honey boom appears to be over.
- Approximately 68 tons of honey were exported to the following destinations in 1997 :
|
Volume (tons)
|
Value (JPY million)
|
| Taiwan |
39.765 |
13.585 |
| Malaysia |
17.075 |
7.170 |
| Thailand |
6.000 |
2.387 |
| Singapore |
4.845 |
1.853 |
| Hong Kong |
0.264 |
0.501 |
| Indonesia |
0.020 |
0.275 |
| Total |
67.969 |
25.771 |
- Imports between 1992 and 1997 were as follows :
|
Volume (tons)
|
Value (\ million)
|
| 1992 |
32,224 |
4,075 |
| 1993 |
36,181 |
3,566 |
| 1994 |
40,112 |
3,654 |
| 1995 |
39,200 |
3,852 |
| 1996 |
41,592 |
6,154 |
| 1997 |
34,318 |
6,061 |
It can be seen from the figures that the unit price of imports was markedly higher in 1996 and 1997 than in 1995. Sources of imports by country in 1997 were as follows :
|
Volume (tons) |
Value (JPY million)
|
| China |
30,706( 89.5%) |
5,031( 83.0%) |
| Argentina |
1,589( 4.6%) |
339( 5.6%) |
New Zealand
|
212( 0.6%) |
88( 3.1%) |
| U.S.A. |
371( 1.1%) |
123( 2.0%) |
| Canada |
299( 0.9%) |
79( 1.3%) |
| Hungary |
202( 0.6%) |
64( 1.1%) |
| Australia |
227( 0.7%) |
60( 1.0%) |
| Mexico |
142( 0.3%) |
38( 0.6%) |
| France |
38( 0.1%) |
37( 0.6%) |
| Vietnam |
239( 0.7%) |
34( 0.6%) |
| Myanmar |
200( 0.6%) |
26( 0.4%) |
| Others |
93( 0.3%) |
42( 0.7%) |
| Total |
34,318(100 %)
|
6,061(100 %)
|
- Honey is imported in the form of a raw material in large containers such as drums, and is dissolved, filtered and refined by packers (firms that refine, treat and process honey), turned into merchandise and subdivided.
Imports of bottled or canned products are rare. Honey can be used as either table honey for use at home or as honey for commercial use, but the latter is much more common.
- Honey is normally sold by retailers, supermarkets and department stores. As the turnover rate is poor, it is rarely stocked by convenience stores.
- Comb honey (honey packed still in the honeycomb) has proved popular with consumers.
It is imported from New Zealand and Canada, and sales are growing.
- Merchandise that is defective and harmful to health is covered by the Product Liability Law.
- Honey is more frequently imported and sold as a foodstuff than as a pharmaceutical.
It should be noted that if imported as a foodstuff, the Food Hygiene Law and the Measurement Law are applicable, and if imported as a pharmaceutical, the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law is applicable.
- Annual per capita consumption of honey in Japan is 300g, which is low when compared with 800`1,000g in the U.S. and 1,500`2,000g in Germany.
Source : Japan Exports & Importsr
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