Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Chinese garlic

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Allan Balliett <igg AT igg.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Chinese garlic
  • Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 10:40:17 -0500

China has been dumping crops on the US for some time, but, of course, we do not hear about it. Honey was the first I heard of, some time ago. Tons came in at 10cents a pound. Didn't apples start coming in a cople of years back? And now, garlic. I don't think any of this has to affect we direct marketers, but it is pretty disconcerting. It's interesting how transportation expenses (oil prices) are not reflected in multi-national stratagems, isn't it? -Allan
From lh AT pressroom.com Sat Mar 8 11:33:23 2003
Return-Path: <lh AT pressroom.com>
Delivered-To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from qmail.fcc.net (qmail.fcc.net [63.250.0.147])
by happyhouse.metalab.unc.edu (Postfix) with SMTP id 3B89820040
for <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
Sat, 8 Mar 2003 11:33:23 -0500 (EST)
Received: (qmail 23223 invoked from network); 8 Mar 2003 16:34:52 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO ?207.111.96.51?) (207.111.96.51)
by 0 with SMTP; 8 Mar 2003 16:34:52 -0000
Mime-Version: 1.0
X-Sender: lh AT pressroom.com@pop.pressroom.com
Message-Id: <p05200f00ba8fc4fc6504@[216.44.70.108]>
In-Reply-To: <a05200f00ba8fbedcfb7f@[192.168.123.143]>
References: <p05200f01ba8f1b2b58b3@[216.44.70.108]>
<a05200f00ba8fbedcfb7f@[192.168.123.143]>
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 11:34:47 -0500
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
From: Leigh Hauter <lh AT pressroom.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
Subject: [Market-farming] Chinese garlic, honey, apples, etc
X-BeenThere: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
Reply-To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Id: Market Farming <market-farming.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming>,
<mailto:market-farming-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/market-farming>
List-Post: <mailto:market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming>,
<mailto:market-farming-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 16:33:23 -0000

Honey prices are way up this year because Chinese honey (which had captured a huge percentage of the US market with its really low price) was caught with high residues of a banned antibiotic and was therefore, by government regulation, outlawed from the American market (so much for a 'free market'). You might have read about a honey packer down in Texas recently being fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for bringing Chinese honey into the country.

And I sort of disagree with Allan on this one, Chinese honey, garlic, apples (soon pork, chickens and wheat) do have an effect on market farmers here in the US in so far as it lowers grocery store prices. Unless we are differentiating our product as somehow better (and it is) we are stuck competing with Chinese peasants.

A side note about Chinese honey and bees (which is probably interesting to other farmers who have to worry about exotic diseases and species). China is having to use the antibiotics on their bees for much the same reason many US beekeepers are using toxic chemicals to kill mites on their bees. Human population density. As human population grows we take our animals, plants and insects with us. The European bee moved east and the Asian bees moved west. When they met they exchanged diseases. European bees caught the Asian mites and Asian bees caught things like American foul brood. Both were/are deadly to the other. In this country, as did the Chinese, we jumped to chemical fixes. That, of course, only worked in the short term. This is probably why China is using the banned for only human use (in the US) strong antibiotic. Run of the mill antibiotics like tetracycline have probably stopped working. Here mites have become resistant to one miticide after another. Right now there is a big effort to find and breed mite resistant bees before we run out of chemicals to keep our bees alive.
From mrfarm AT frontiernet.net Sat Mar 8 12:18:16 2003
Return-Path: <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
Delivered-To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Received: from relay01.roc.frontiernet.net (relay01.roc.frontiernet.net
[66.133.131.34])
by happyhouse.metalab.unc.edu (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4CAE220034
for <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>;
Sat, 8 Mar 2003 12:18:16 -0500 (EST)
Received: (qmail 28258 invoked from network); 8 Mar 2003 17:19:44 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO b7t6z8) ([209.130.160.68])
(envelope-sender <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>)
by relay01.roc.frontiernet.net (FrontierMTA 2.3.2) with SMTP
for <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>; 8 Mar 2003 17:19:44 -0000
From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 11:19:33 -0600
Message-ID: <MCBBLBFJONGCDGBIINOGGEDCCDAA.mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3 (Normal)
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0)
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600
In-Reply-To: <p05200f00ba8fc4fc6504@[216.44.70.108]>
Importance: Normal
Subject: [Market-farming] Markets, honey, and who buys the stuff
X-BeenThere: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1
Precedence: list
Reply-To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Id: Market Farming <market-farming.lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming>,
<mailto:market-farming-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/market-farming>
List-Post: <mailto:market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
List-Help: <mailto:sympa AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=HELP>
List-Subscribe: <http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming>,
<mailto:market-farming-request AT lists.ibiblio.org?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 17:18:16 -0000

Leigh Hauter wrote:
Honey prices are way up this year because Chinese honey (which had
captured a huge percentage of the US market with its really low
price) was caught with high residues of a banned antibiotic and was
therefore, by government regulation, outlawed from the American
market (so much for a 'free market').

A free market is only "relatively" free. There are rules and they are
spelled out in the agreements between countries. If they are violated then
there are recourses. And that is the way it should be. Open and transparent
rules for everyone to see.

...Chinese honey, garlic,
apples (soon pork, chickens and wheat) do have an effect on market
farmers here in the US in so far as it lowers grocery store prices.
Unless we are differentiating our product as somehow better (and it
is) we are stuck competing with Chinese peasants.

While I will not denigrate peasants from other countries, it is very true
that the price of the conventional markets directly impacts all other
markets as well. Our local grocery store price does set the price of "o"
products and other differentiated products as well.

A good case in point was a very upscale buyer that we have for our beef
products feels that "o" products are out of line with a fair price and he
can afford anything he wants and is VERY big on locally produced food and
food distribution issues.

Our price is slightly higher compared to the conventional price, so we get
the business that would have perhaps gone for the "o" products. But our
quality is so much higher than conventional, especially with our low fat,
that it is actually less expensive than conventional products.

It is somewhat ironic that honey production now requires far more
antibiotics than you would be exposed to from most other conventional food
production. This is the first winter in perhaps a decade that I actually
used honey again after discontinuing it for many years when the price
exceeded $1/lb. It was not that many years ago when honey was around .10/lb
wholesale. And it isn't even all that good for you, so it is an easy
decision to discontinue it in the past:) But I was able to get some for a
good price (relatively speaking) at the farmer's market.

Having said that, Judy and I just got back from a #2 breakfast at McDonald's
after doing our weekly recycling run, and briefly chatted with our honey
producer who is also our market coordinator for our attempt at starting up
the new F.M. at Westby in late May. We have to delay the start of the market
due to Syttende Mai coming in mid May and that pretty much puts the focus of
the community on that event to the near exclusion of anything else. Luckily,
being 1/4 Norwegian, I have some appreciation for it, even if I can not
speak the language.

So this morning I am sitting here at the beginning of a moderate snow storm,
sipping my tea ... with locally produced honey from the above mentioned
honey producer:)

Sincerely,

Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Direct marketed dairy beef and produce
(also dairy heifers and beef stockers)
Viroqua, WI





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page