How to get recognition for the excellence of Reunion honeys? For the Association for the Development of Beekeeping in Reunion (ADAR), chaired by Dominick Cerveaux, beekeeper in La Montagne, the solution involves a protected designation of origin which, by distinguishing the best of local production, would allow the sector to be structured on a demanding basis.
Before the problem of non-compliant imported honey, denounced by metropolitan beekeepers (see Leader Meeting no. 223, May 2023), Reunionese beekeepers face the problem of simple importation and the need, to answer, a guaranteed identification of Reunionese origin. The local honey market is estimated at 700 tonnes per year. Reunion production covers 350 tonnes. Mainly distributed in large retailers and on fairground markets, the supply is therefore 50% imported. The local market therefore offers strong development potential for local producers.. Nowadays, the majority of quality honey production comes from 85 professionals, of which only ten make a living from their profession. For the others, it is a secondary activity although often important and growing. ADAR brings together all these professionals and the two producer organizations in the sector, the Coopémiel cooperative and the Reunion Bee Union on its board of directors. The sector therefore appears to be in working order to move towards common objectives.. At the top of these objectives is the project of an AOP (protected designation of origin) Reunion honeys. An already old project, but what the current president of the ADAR relaunches with conviction, Dominick Cerveaux.
Study trip to mainland France in September
Obtaining an AOP is a long process. The investigation of the file takes four to five years. A PDO must in fact comply with rigorous specifications defined by the National Institute of Origin and Quality. (CONTAINS). However, the Reunion file already has enough to convince by ticking several of the main boxes. First the typicality of Reunionese honeys, which include the three categories of pink bay honey, lychee honey and forest honey. “Pure honeys, natural, without mixing, produced exclusively by bees, without human intervention”, insists Dominick Brains. Other condition for obtaining the AOP, filled with honey from Reunion Island : all honey operations, starting with the extraction of honey from hive frames, take place in the production region : by force of circumstances, Reunion being an island, everything is done on site, unlike certain producing regions in mainland France. The Reunion file has another asset: the Mielomic project, launched in 2015, which aims to characterize, through scientific measurements, Reunion honeys which may claim PDO status. To know more, a delegation of beekeepers from ADAR travels to Corsica in September, region having obtained an AOP for its honeys, as well as in Provence and Occitane, these two regions benefiting from a protected geographical indication (IGP) for their honey.
A collective honey house in Bras-Panon
The association of Reunion beekeepers is pursuing a collective honey farm project in Bras-Panon in line with the objective of the AOP. The Bras-Panon agricultural fair is already the major annual meeting for Reunion honey, it seemed logical to take Bras-Panon one step further by locating this project there. Under discussion with the municipality, ADAR benefits from the support of Crédit Agricole de La Réunion and support from the tropical bioeconomy competitiveness cluster Qualitropic in conjunction with the Institute of Quality and Agroecology (EQUATE). Providing them with state-of-the-art extraction equipment, the honey house would be aimed at beekeepers wishing to see their honeys stamped AOP. Accessible au public, it would offer a discovery tour of the world of bees and honey production. This would be the reference place to buy Reunionese AOP honey.
