The honey industry involves the production and sale of honey, as well as other bee-derived products such as beeswax, propolis, and royal jelly.
The industry has been growing in recent years due to the increasing demand for natural sweeteners and the health benefits associated with honey.
Fortune Business Insights has forecasted the worldwide honey industry to increase at a CAGR of 5.83% from $8.53 billion in 2022 to $12.69 billion by 2029.
1. TURKEY
Centauri Honey: $11,000/kg
Turkey is home to some of the most expensive honey varieties in the world. These include Elvish honey, which is obtained from deep caves, and Centauri honey, which is cultivated at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level.
Centauri Honey is the world’s most expensive honey due to its rarity as it is only harvested once a year.
The bee colony is kept away from human residences and other colonies to ensure its purity and safety, and only natural herbs and plants are used to deter parasites. It is only harvested once per year to ensure that there is enough honey to sustain bees.
2. NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand32+ UMF Limited Reserve Manuka Honey: $5,200/KG.
New Zealand produces a large variety of honey, each with its distinct taste, hue, quality, and benefits.
The country is able to produce many famous honey varieties, including kamahi honey, beechwood honeydew, and manuka honey, due to the diversity of its natural flowers and pollination.
Some of the top honey brands in New Zealand include New Zealand Honey Co., Steens, Comvita Limited, Oha Honey LP, and Streamland Biological Technology Ltd.
Manuka honey is the most famous honey variety from New Zealand, and it is made from the nectar of manuka tree flowers, native to isolated regions of the country, which only blooms for two to six weeks a year.
Comvita Limited (OTC:CVNZF) is a New Zealand-based company that specializes in producing and selling manuka honey.
3. YEMEN
Sidr Honey: $1000/kg
The honey from Yemen is regarded as one of the finest honey in the world. Among several high-quality honey varieties, Royal Sidr Honey takes the crown as the best honey from Yemen. It is made from the wild Sidr tree’s blooms, which are found in Yemen’s uncultivated desert regions.
Sidr honey is only harvested in winter through manual labor using simple tools, smoke, and sharp knives. Sidr trees found in Yemen are of the highest quality as they grow naturally without any pesticides, chemicals, or fertilizers.
The honey’s exceptional quality, therapeutic value, and transportation challenges all contribute to its price. Other Yemeni varieties include doani honey, al-osaimi honey, samar honey, and al-marai honey.
4. MALAYSIA
Tualang Black Honey: $500/kg
Malaysia boasts one of the most biodiverse flora, with over 15,000 species of vascular plants. The honey varieties such as Kelulut, Acacia, and Tualang produced in Malaysia are known to have amazing health benefits.
Several pure honey brands, such as Capilano Pure Honey, Country Farm Organics Honey, CED Pure Honey, and LOHAS Premium Raw Honey, operate in Malaysia.
The Tualang Black Honey is among the most expensive honey varieties due to its health benefits and difficulty of obtaining it.
The honey is gathered from combs on the towering Tualang trees because the bees are fiercely defensive and cannot be tamed.
5. ISRAEL.
Life Mel Honey: $453.5/kg
Israel is aptly called the land of milk and honey because of the country’s rich history of cultivating honey. The most sought-after honey in Israel is made from Mount Hermon’s blossoms.
Beekeepers require special military authorization to gather it as it is one of the last remaining wilderness areas of the country untouched by any industrial crops.
Life Mel Honey from Israel is among the top honey varieties in the world.
The honey bees are fed on a special food mixture which causes the honey to develop a unique taste and the therapeutic benefits of natural ingredients and herbs used in the feed.
6. GREECE
Golden Thyme Honey From Ikaria: $250/kg
Greece has an advantage over other European honey producers in terms of quality since the majority of its honey originates from uncultivated environments that are devoid of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers.
Some of the popular varieties of Greek honey include thyme honey, pine honey, citrus honey, fir honey, and heather honey.
The golden thyme honey from Ikaria is considered one of the most expensive honey because the bees in Ikaria exclusively gather nectar from medicinal herbs, pines, and other local flora.
The quantity of this honey is also limited because the Ikarian people still use the same harvesting method they did decades ago, which also keeps the quality of honey unchanged.
7. THAILAND
Stingless Bee Honey: $216/kg
Even though Thailand is a relatively small supplier in the honey market, Thai honey is in demand due to its purity and quality.
Among all the varieties, the Stingless Bee Honey is among the most valuable honey variety in the country.
The high price of this honey is due to its therapeutic and psycho-chemical aspects. It has natural hydrating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial qualities that promote wound healing.
Another factor that draws a lot of customers is the honey’s high concentration of flavonoids and polyphenols in comparison to other honey varieties.
8. ETHIOPIA
White Honey from Tigray Mountains: $215.9/kg
Ethiopia is the biggest natural honey-producing nation in Africa. It is home to roughly 10 million wild colonies and about 6 million controlled bee colonies.
The most distinctive type of honey in Ethiopia is the White Honey from Tigray Mountains, which has a particular flavor and color thanks to a variety of native plants that thrive there.
The Tigray White honey is also expensive since it is produced in limited quantities, and the bees must go far distances for pollination because of the drought in the Tigray mountain region.
Ethiopia also produces other famous honey varieties such as wenchi volcano honey, wolisso honey, shalala honey, and horde honey.
9. RUSSIA
Bashkirian Honey: $130-220/kg
Russia is among the top honey producers in the world.
The country produces a large variety of honey, including buckwheat honey, lime honey, broom-heather honey, and chestnut honey.
The Bashkirian honey is the rarest and most expensive honey variety produced in Russia because it is produced at a high-altitude zone free of pollution and is only harvested once every year.
Honey bees combine nectars from many plants, including a significant share of linden nectar, to create Bashkirian honey, giving it a distinctive flavor.
10. SPAIN
Miel Lo Mejor del Bierz: $162/kg
Spain is among the leading European honey-producing countries. Several monofloral honey varieties are found in Spain, including orange blossom, rosemary, eucalyptus, thyme, and chestnut.
The honey from the El Bierzo district in Spain is considered the most expensive honey in Europe because a huge amount of work is required to produce it.
Honey bees have to travel almost 7,000 km to collect nectars from almost 200,000 to 250,000 flowers just to produce 1 kg of Miel Lo Mejor del Bierz honey.
The honey variety is also famous throughout the Arab world because of its halal certification.
11. FRANCE
Opéra Garnier Honey: $129.6/kg
France is an excellent feeding ground for bees, and all 22 of its regions produce honey. Numerous honey varieties are produced throughout the nation, including Miel des Cévennes, Miel de Sapin des Vosges, Miel de Corse, Miel d’Alsace, and Miel de Provence.
The honey from Opéra Garnier is the most valuable as it is extracted from the roofs of Opéra Garnier, which is one of the most celebrated monuments in Paris, giving this honey variety a unique and symbolic background.
Another reason why Opéra Garnier honey is among the most expensive varieties is its limited annual supply of 500 Kg.
12. NEPAL
Himalayan Honey: $120.5/kg
Beekeeping is practiced by more than 50,000 households in Nepal. The country has both multi-floral and uni-floral honey due to its diverse flora.
There are also some unique honey varieties emanating from Nepal from fruit trees, such as citrus, wild cherry, and lychee.
Among all the varieties, Himalayan honey is the most valuable due to its rarity and difficulty of obtaining it.
The honey hunters of Gurung tribes climb 200-300 meters by hand-made rope ladders to harvest honey twice a year.
It is produced by Himalayan giant bees that gather nectar from delicate rhododendron and wildflower petals, giving the honey psychedelic properties.
13. AUSTRALIA
Manuka Honey MGO 100+: $107.9/kg
In Australia, honey bees may visit over 700 native blooming plants to gather nectar and pollen to make honey.
The country is home to several famous honey varieties, including jarrah, banksia, leatherwood, mallee, and karri honey. Among all the varieties, manuka honey is the most expensive and is known for its health benefits and purity.
The price of manuka honey varies depending on its MGO rating. Australia’s most famous honey brands include Beechworth, Capilano, Aldi Bramwells, Woolworths, and Coles.
Capilano Honey Limited (CZZ.AX) is an example of an Australian company that produces and sells honey and other bee-related products.
14. MEXICO
Avocado Honey: $63.45/kg
Mexico is one of the biggest honey exporters in the world. Mexican avocado honey is one of the rarest honey varieties in the world.
It is produced by bees feeding on avocado trees growing in the world’s largest and oldest avocado plantation, which is located 5000 ft above sea level in the Michoacan highlands of Western Mexico.
The avocado honey provides immunity from pollen allergies of avocado and other flowers found within the region. It is also beneficial for the skin if used as a skin mask.
15. United StatesTupelo Honey: $61.72/kgThe United States produced a total of 126 million pounds of honey in 2021.
The country produces well-known honey varieties, including kiawe honey, eucalyptus honey, mountain wildflower honey, buckwheat honey, spring blossom chunk honey, and tupelo honey.
Tupelo honey is the most expensive variety because of its rarity, as the Apalachicola River Basin, Florida, is the only place where tupelo trees may grow in large stands.
The high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) rating is among its many advantages, which indicates that it has the amazing ability to shield the skin from damage caused by the sun and other environmental irritants.
The United States is home to some of the biggest honey brands in the world, such as Barkman Honey LLC, Beeyond the Hive, and Dutch Gold Honey Inc. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) is a US-based multinational food processing and commodities trading corporation that produces and markets honey products.
