Honey Crisis: Lázaro Cárdenas Beekeepers Struggle

Lázaro Cárdenas, Quintana Roo — The apiculture industry in the municipality of Lázaro Cárdenas is mired in a profound crisis, characterized by a lack of governmental support, guild disorganization, and a worrying drop in the price of honey. Despite individual and community efforts to maintain quality and achieve product certification, beekeepers in the region state they are operating in an environment of uncertainty that jeopardizes their families' subsistence and the continuity of a deeply rooted cultural and economic tradition.

The primary complaint from producers centers on institutional abandonment by all three levels of government. They asserted that this sector, vital to the local ecology and economy, has been relegated, forcing them to seek solutions on their own due to the ineffectiveness of the former association, whose current status is unknown. This situation gave rise to small groups and cooperatives in communities like San Francisco and Juárez.

These nuclei have taken the initiative to certify their honey autonomously, seeking to guarantee the quality and purity of their product in a desperate attempt to improve their market position. However, their efforts appear to be in vain, as the price remains very low.

Honey production is concentrated mainly in Kantunilkín and Nuevo Xcán; due to its high quality, it is sold not only in the Riviera Maya but also in markets in Yucatán such as Chemax, Popolnah, and Tizimín. Nevertheless, producers are paid between 12 and 26 pesos per liter, or at most 28 to 30 pesos.

An acopiador, or bulk buyer, stated that a few years ago, the municipality produced 500 kilos of nectar, but now production does not even reach 50 percent of that amount.

Carlos Vicente Hau Hau, a beekeeper, said he had to reinvent himself. "I started my own business; I collect honey from those near Nuevo Durango and we sell it in the Riviera," he explained. He indicated that he created his own commercialization channel to avoid intermediary buyers, whose practices directly influence price fluctuations. However, he added that even with self-management, the situation is critical.

The precariousness is aggravated by the lack of an official registry of beekeepers. Hau Hau noted that since the association ceased to function, they cannot access support programs and have been left "adrift."

He asserted that beekeeping is a labor that requires investment and permanent care, especially outside the harvest season. Currently, the sector is in the breeding period (July to September), when there is no nectar available in the fields and production stops until the harvest season begins in November, peaking between January and July.

Hau Hau detailed that for the bees to survive, he needs between eight and 10 kilos of sugar per hive during the two months of breeding to feed them. Additionally, the application of one kilo of "torta proteica," a nutritious mixture based on Minsa, honey, and yeasts, is required to ensure the health and vitality of the apiarian population. These expenses, added to the low sale prices, stifle the business's profitability.