How beekeepers loose money

• Equipment
  • Hives
    • Full single hive (without bees) ~ 150 EUR
    • Deep sections. Lifetime ~ 5-20 years, depends if its painted
    • Paint for protection. ~ 30 EUR for ~ 10 sections
    • Frames with new wax comb ~ 2 EUR / frame. Lifetime ~ 3 years
  • Honey badger ~ 300 - 800 EUR. Depends on size and if its motorized
  • Wax melter ~2500 EUR (source 2023)
  • Suit, Gloves
• Bees (aka bee package on 4 frames) ~ 150 EUR
• Buying queens
• Transport (to distant apiaries, mobile apiaries)
• Labour costs (time & sweat)
  • Inspections
  • Managing hive equipment
  • Waste management
  • Respirator for treatment
  • Waterproof gloves for treatment
• Treatment
  • ApiGuard. ~75 EUR, 20 doses (source 2021)
  • Epipen ~ 50 EUR (source 2021)

How beekeepers make money

<aside> 📦 Need more market analysis breakdown by region

</aside>

• Precise pollination of farmlands
• Selling honey
  • Cost of honey in 🇪🇪 Estonia (source, 2023, 2022, 2021)
    • ~4 EUR / kg for mixed honey, sold in bulk
    • ~7 EUR / kg for honey collected at bogs
    • ~10 EUR / kg for heather (kanarbik) honey
  • 1 Colony can make ~ 40-80 kg / year (depends on strength)
    • 1 ha of land supports ~ 5 colonies = 500 kg of honey
    • at peak time, +3kg of honey per day
  • ~ 200-400 EUR / year per colony
• Selling pollen [todo]
• Selling queens
• Selling bee swarms, bee splits
  • ~ 180 - 250 EUR / colony (source 2023)
• Apiary houses retreat

source - https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-04/market-presentation-honey_en_0.pdf