Production costs of conventional and organic honey in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

In the Yucatin peninsula of Mexico, ca 16,000 beekeepers are indigenous Mayan farmers living in relatively natural, undisturbed regions and practicing traditional forms of Apis mellifera beekeeping. The economics of family survival, where large profits from honey sales are not possible, are distinct from the economics of the large market economy surrounding them. According to market economic theory, in the years 2002 and 2003 those beekeepers who did not produced more than 1,200 kg honey per year did not recover their investments, at least as regards variable costs; in other words, they paid more than they gained through sales. In addition, it is shown that organic (ecologic) honey production increases costs about 70% above that of conventional honey.