New York honey prices, production rise in 2014

ALBANY, N.Y. — Honey prices in New York state increased 28 percent last year to 272 cents per pound from 212 cents a pound in 2013, according to a news release the USDA’s New York field office issued Monday.

Honey production by New York producers with five or more colonies totaled 3.3 million pounds in 2014, up 25 percent from 2013, the release stated.

The state had 60,000 colonies producing honey last year, up 9 percent from the year before.

 Yield per colony averaged 55 pounds, up 15 percent from 48 pounds in 2013. Producer honey stocks totaled 1.52 million pounds on Dec. 15, 2014, up 47 percent from a year earlier.