Reports of Bee Shortage Unsettle Almond Bloom
Dena Kennedy
Photo: John Cox I The Californian
New reports of a honeybee shortage have thrown new uncertainty into the annual almond pollination just as trees have started blooming across the Central Valley.
In a sharp turnaround from glut expectations early this month, beekeepers and bee brokers said Wednesday they have been contacted during about the past week and a half by almond growers anxious for colonies to fertilize their orchards.
“All the surplus bees are gone,” Shafter-area honeybee broker Mike Mulligan said. “I get calls almost every day (from) people looking for additional bee hives.”
As the latest rebalancing of bee supply and demand, the situation strikes at the heart of the nation’s, if not the world’s, largest pollination event. But whether the dearth is good or bad may depend on the grower.
A large oversupply of almonds has built up over years of shipping bottlenecks and declining demand, such that prices have fallen to levels below growers’ costs. Optimism did tick up very recently as winter storms forced prices so low that sales picked up noticeably, resulting in less stored inventory and somewhat stronger prices.
Individual growers don’t want to see their own crop come up short, but the industry as a whole isn’t likely to grieve if this year’s bounty ends up a little light, especially if that means the oversupply shrinks and prices come up.
