Beekeepers warn of food price increases amid varroa mite battle in South Australia
About one-third of food in Australia is reliant on honey bee pollination. (ABC News: Jessica Black)
In short:
Deadly parasite varroa mite has been detected in hives in various locations around SA.
The pest weakens and kills honey bees which are responsible for pollinating about one-third of Australia's total food production.
What's next?
Beekeepers are being warned to assume varroa is near, regardless of their location, and take measures to protect their hives.
Consumers are being warned that food prices may increase as a deadly bee parasite spreads into South Australia, with more growers being forced to rely on commercial pollination services.
Several varroa mite outbreaks have been confirmed in hives at various locations across SA in recent weeks — the most recent at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills, where crops such as apples and cherries are grown.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regions of SA (PIRSA) said it anticipated further detections in the Adelaide Hills region, as well as in the Fleurieu and in the south east of the state, in the coming days and weeks.
Bees infested with varroa mites. (Supplied: Australian Honey Bee Industry Council)
Varroa mite weakens and kills honey bees and transmits viruses to its hosts.
It has now been found in SA, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT.
About 35 per cent of crops are reliant on bee pollination in Australia, with about 75 per cent of all crops getting some benefit from pollination by bees.
Paid pollination services will grow
Keegan Blignaut is the managing director of Duxton Bees in the Murraylands, which provides pollination services mainly to the almond industry.
He said he expected demand for managed hives to increase, as it already had overseas and in states where the parasite had taken hold.
Keegan Blignaut expects demand for pollination services will grow. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)
"We've been very fortunate up until this time without varroa being endemic in Australia, that we've had, in a sense, this free pollination for crops," Mr Blignaut said.
"With varroa being in the mix now, we foresee that paid pollination services will grow.
"Not just almonds, but canola, lucerne, clovers — any seeded crops that need pollinators are going to need more bees if you remove the feral population that supports those crops currently."
Mr Blignaut said costs would increase as the pollination industry scaled up to meet demand.
He said honey prices would also need to rise for that to happen.
"The industry is not at the scale to support the demand for pollination, so the price of pollination will increase, which will support the industry," Mr Blignaut said.
"But we [also] need to see an increase in the honey price to increase growth in the industry, because the industry has been really standing still for the last five or six years with the commodity prices we've seen.
Mr Blignaut says the industry is not at a scale to support the demand for pollination. (ABC News: Guido Salazar)
"The industry needs a better revenue stream through pollination, through increased honey prices to really meet the demand, or it will be a lag."
Beekeepers need to 'assume varroa is near'
Beekeepers Society of South Australia member Simon Gerblich said SA already did not have enough bees to carry out annual crop pollination, bringing in thousands of interstate bees to do the job.
He feared the spread of varroa among feral bees would have "major consequences" for food production and prices.
Almonds are among the food crops reliant on bees. (Supplied: Australian Almonds)
"Once all of those feral colonies go, that will mean that all of those pollination-dependant industries like cherries, apricots, pears … the yield on that fruit is going to go down — that's what's happening in NSW at the moment," Mr Gerblich said.
"If people allow the bees to die off, and there's no ferals, it's heading to a real problem for horticulture and pollination-dependent industries in food yield, and it's going to mean food prices go up because pollination prices go up."
Mr Gerlich urged beekeepers to register with PIRSA to keep across the latest developments, and test their hives regularly.
Beekeepers fear the spread of varroa among feral bees will have "major consequences" for food production and prices. (ABC Rural: Jessica Schremmer)
"We're really concentrating on how we get communications out to try to get South Australian beekeepers to get up to date with what's happening, because it's hitting us a lot quicker than we thought," he said.
"We really need all SA beekeepers to virtually assume that varroa could be near them and start doing varroa tests."
More managed hives
Fruit Producers SA chief executive Grant Piggott said fruit growers had been anticipating an eventual spread of varroa into SA, and the need for more managed hives as a result.
He said those measures would need to be "stepped up" to ensure enough hives would be available.
Varroa mite has been found in SA, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. (Supplied: Biosecurity Queensland)
"Probably, as soon as next year, the amount of managed hives that growers need to achieve their pollination will need to increase," Mr Piggott said.
"Because, over time, what will happen is the feral bees will be impacted by varroa mite, whereas we used to take advantage of some free pollination from them.
"That will decrease — we don't know at what rate necessarily — so I think as a precaution our growers will be putting more managed hives in next year."