About to go bonkers, page-38

The only dark cloud on the horizon is the ongoing risk of varroa mite entering Australia.

While it has devastated o/s bee/honey industries and is crippling honey supplies, at this stage it's still being kept in check from entering Australia - but for how long. Some see it as a matter of when, not if, it enters Australia.

This may be opening up o/s markets to increased imports of Aussie honey and driving up prices globally. Due also to the fear that the o/s domestic supplies are contaminated and of a lesser quality due to the strength of the chemicals used to control the parasitic mites (residues left behind contaminate the hives).

There's quite an industry in Australia selling/supplying queen bees to devastated o/s regions to try to kick start new hives - with limited success. Australian scientists are some of the world leaders in research into controlling eliminating the varroa mite.

While it would be great to find a solution to varroa and decrease/eliminate the risk to local growers, it would also decrease the o/s demand for Australian honey. A two edged sword.