Production and marketing of honey in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

In Mexico, beekeeping has been developed as a productive and income-generating activity for several decades, making the country the third largest exporter and ninth largest producer worldwide. However, like other primary products, the producer has an unfavorable position in the commercialization chain. The objective was to characterize honey production and identify the different honey marketing channels in the state of Oaxaca, to analyze the structure of the honey market in Oaxaca. First, the characterization of beekeepers in Oaxaca was carried out, with which a stratification of these was generated, taking as a base variable the size of the production unit. It was found that those who belong to an organization have more hives and a higher yield compared to independent beekeepers. Third, based on the question ‘To whom do you sell honey?”, a mapping of the marketing network in the Costa, Sierra Sur and Valles Centrales regions of Oaxaca was carried out, which made it possible to identify four marketing channels and the commercial agents that participate in them. It was found that large producers are in the Costa and Sierra Sur, who sell their production to intermediaries, while in Valles Centrales the producers are small and sell in local markets (short marketing circuits).