Letters to the editor – February 26, 2026
Canadian beekeepers treat Europe unfairly
I’m writing because we’re disappointed and saddened by what’s happening in Canada.
First the smears from the Canadian Beekeepers Federation and then importers like Dancing Bee and Chris Bartel who decided not to import from Europe to “increase biosecurity standards.” Now, New Brunswick is banning imports from Europe.
There’s little science and a lot of politics in all of this, and it’s surprising that both the Canadian Honey Council and the Canadian government haven’t taken a clear stance in defending what in just a few years had become Canada’s second-largest supplier of packaged bees.
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This comes after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the only body with the authority to establish biosecurity criteria, reiterated that bees from Italy and Malta meet Canadian requirements.
We’ve invested heavily to provide excellent service to Canadian beekeepers, providing impeccable packaged bees of the highest quality and with zero losses.
It’s disheartening to see our efforts undermined by the political games of a few large beekeepers pushing for the opening of the border with the United States.
What the beekeepers who promoted this fear campaign probably don’t understand is that once the supply chain is destroyed, it won’t be so easy to rebuild. Who will still want to invest in supplying a country that dumps its strategic suppliers without valid reasons?
It’s strange, but when it comes to bees, Canadian beekeepers are behaving exactly like President Trump with his allies.
We sincerely hope that the CHC and the Canadian government understand the gravity of the situation and intervene to preserve a strategic supplier like Europe, the only continent where honeybees can be found in all their biodiversity.
Ermanno De Chino,
Melita Bees Ltd., Malta
Source: producer.com