Importing Honey and Bees to USA

Did you know the U.S. produces more than 200 million pounds of honey annually? And altogether, Americans eat more than 400 million pounds of honey a year! Honey and honey bees are big business in the world of importing.

Importing Honey from China

Be wary of importing honey to US borders that comes from China. Chinese beekeepers use antibiotics to stop a bacterial infection from ruining the honey industry decades ago. The problem, though, is that the antibiotic, known as Chloramphenicol, is outlawed in the U.S.

The drug still finds its ways onto U.S. shelves though. China can ship its honey imports to other countries before the honey is then shipped to the U.S. under a different country of origin. Importers should check labels closely for honey imports and make sure they have one single ingredient: Honey.

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Packed Honey Labeling Requirements

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires the following on its honey labels to pass import inspection:

• A grade, sampling or continuous inspection mark

• The country of origin

• Words that are legible and in English

• The words “Product of,” followed by the country where the honey came from

Importing Bees

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does not monitor the transfer of bees as long as they are moving within the United States. However, bees are not allowed to be imported to Hawaii from the continental United States. Canada also does not allow the importation of honey bees from the United States.

You can never import the following to the U.S. from other countries:

• Dead bees

• Honey for bee feeding only

• Beeswax for beekeepers

• Pollen used for bee feeding

If you obtain the proper permit, you are allowed to import royal jelly to the U.S. for bee feeding for scientific reasons.

Bee Inspections

Importation of live bees involves the queens, plus package bees or attendants only. This means a queen plus three to five pounds of worker bees that are packaged appropriately. The export certificate must outline any diseases, subspecies or parasites that were found during an inspection. Shipments will be refused entry if they contain alarming diseases such as the Thai sacbrood virus

You should always check the General Shipping Requirements for Honey Bee Importing to make certain both the country and the bees you seek to import into the U.S. are on the list. Follow the following honey bee shipping requirements to make your importing bees to USA borders is a successful one:

• Non-stop flights only for bees coming to the U.S. for bee importing inspections.

• Provide full flight information

• Notify APHIS headquarters of your bee shipment 10 days before importing begins. Include the full name, address, and phone numbers of both the consignee and consignor.

• You need a honey bee import certificate from the birthplace of the bees, along with a manifest detailing your entire shipment.

• Have a “Live Bees” sticker on every side of the package. Letters must be at least 1-inch tall.

• You must submit a 10-day notification and a zoo sanitary certificate to the APHIS before the package arrives in the U.S. This mandate exists for express package delivery services too.

• Schedule an inspection and a transfer for pickup of your bee imports once the bees arrive at the airport. You should also schedule a time for a Licensed Customs Broker to pick up the bees and ship them to your approved pick-up spot.