Price Of Honey

The price of honey, taking into account countries and centuries, has varied considerably. In ancient Egypt, where honey was abundant, it was sold for an amount which was equivalent, according to our valuation, to about five cents a pound.

Stanley complained about the exorbitant charges for honey in Africa during his travels. He was compelled to give four yards of linen in exchange for two quarts of honey. Muir mentioned that in 1856, in California, the price of a pound of honey was two dollars; twelve years later the price had fallen to 12 cents. The value of sugar underwent a corresponding change. In the XVI Century, the price of sugar was approximately $2.50 a pound.

The wholesale price of extracted honey today is about four to five cents a pound; inferior honey for baking purposes sells at much lower prices. Comb honey is higher because the wholesale price of wax alone is about 20 to 22 cents a pound. The prices vary each year depending on demand and production. During the World War, for instance, when sugar was scarce and could not be obtained in large quantity, honey sold in carlots from twenty to twenty-five cents a pound. Ice cream was made with honey during this period, and it was a far superior product. Soon after the Armistice, when sugar was again obtainable, the honey prices tumbled and ice cream is made today with sugar because it is cheaper.

There are, of course, objections to the high price of honey, compared with that of sugar. This drawback is mainly due to the fact that honey, as a rule, is purchased in small quantities. The customer pays for the jar, label, workmanship and the cost of the persuasive advertisements just as much as for the honey. When honey will be considered a standard article and not a fancy product and will be procured in bulk, the price should be greatly reduced. And then . . . rhyming slogans such as "Better than honey, for less money," and other efforts very much in vogue today, to make every goose appear a swan, should be accepted with less gullibility.