The price of almonds worldwide is predicted to rocket because of a shortage of honey bees.
The largest producer of almonds, the US, is suffering a drop of between 30% and 40% in the honey bee population which has impacted on production in California, where 80% of the world’s crop grows.
The result is a drop of 800,000 tonnes of almonds, according to researchers Mintec.
The bees are mandatory for pollination of the orchards and the shortage has obliged producers to rent out hives for pollination. Prices have trebled to US$150, and sometimes as much as $200, per hive.
These increased costs is forcing up the price of almonds
The world’s second largest grower, Spain, accounts for slightly less than 10% of global production. Prices there have jumped by 12%, reaching €7.86 a kilo, a high not seen since 2005.
Demands are increasing on the supply from Spain.
California growers need more than 1.5 million bee hives every winter for pollination of the trees. But entire honey bee colonies are simply disappearing in what has been dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder.
The condition is being blamed on a might known as Varroa destructor which leaves the bees more susceptible to virus.
Environmentalists have also blamed the bee decline on pollution, pesticides, pest and weather pattern changes, while some researchers have blamed stress placed on the bees as they are transported from crop to crop.
