Preliminary research indicates that the amount of honeycomb produced globally is not publicly available. However, using several data points, an estimated amount of honeycomb produced annually can be triangulated.
- A typical beehive produces 400 pounds of honeycomb per year.
- A typical beehive produces between 20 and 60 pounds of honey per year.
- An average amount of honey for a typical beehive would be about 40 pounds per year (20 + 60 = 80 /2)
- Therefore, the ratio of honey to honeycomb is 40 pounds of honey to 400 pounds of honeycomb or one pound of honey for every 10 pounds of honey comb.
- As of 2016, there were 90.5 million beehives in the world. If each one produces 400 pounds of honeycomb, this would be a total of 36.2 billion pounds of honeycomb or 18.1 million tons (36.2 billion pounds / 2,000).
- India has the most beehives in the world, with 12 million, which means India produces approximately 4.8 billion pounds (12 million x 400) of honeycomb or 2.4 million tons (4.8 billion / 2,000) per year.
- China and Turkey are the second and third countries in terms of number of beehives.
- There are 2.8 million beehives in the U.S., meaning the U.S. produces approximately 1.12 billion pounds (2.8 million x 400) of honeycomb or 560,000 tons (1.12 billion / 2,000) per year.
- This source provides the retail honeycomb price for six regions in the United States.
- The average retail honeycomb price in December 2018 was $12.69 per pound. Assuming this average is the same globally as it is in the U.S., the estimated annual revenue for honeycomb would be $459.38 billion (36.2 billion x $12.69).