Price of beeswax

[mbholl]

What is current price of bulk beeswax, 20# blocks? Light and dark. Will this go up right along with honey prices? Thanks.

[Ian]

I have been quoted 2.1$ for raw wax cappings, his rendering cost is about .25$/lbs ontop of that, Canadian funds

[jean-marc]

Ian, I was quoted more. I think it was 2.75 Canadian already processed.

Jean-Marc

[JohnK and Sheri]

Prices are, of course, what the market will bear, and vary depending on the color, condition , cleanliness of the wax and distance from the buyer, as wax is heavy. Around here, they often run alongside prices offered by Dadants, as they buy lots of wax.
We buy a few tons a year of rendered beeswax and have paid as low as $1.75 for darker, dirtier wax to a high of $2.50 for ultra clean lighter colored wax.
You could also check out Ebay for pricing.
Sheri

[The Honey Householder]

It all depends if your buying or selling. Last I checked with Dadant was $2.15 a pound for nice yellow beeswax if your selling. I bought 2 ton of yellow delivered for $2.50 a lb. ,and I'm still looking for 2 more ton for my wax bank.
Ron Householder
EM: beeswax@rock.com

[Ian]

>>Ian, I was quoted more. I think it was 2.75 Canadian already processed.

Cool,

[Laurence Hope]

Wax bank?

[The Honey Householder]

Wax bank?

As a second generation honey producer, I've always had a wax bank. You have good honey years and you have bad honey years. When you have a bad year you sell beeswax instead of honey. It like a saving account, but with beeswax. My wax bank is getting low ( under 10 ton).
Ron

[jean-marc]

The trouble with wax banks is that they tend to be very volatile.

Jean-Marc

[CovertBeekInColleyville]

How much room do you need to store 10 ton of wax?

Is the wax in some kind of container like a barrell or box?

[afss]

wouldn't you be better off to sell now and put in a gic or similar? likely going to grow faster there than in wax blocks

[The Honey Householder]

One thing I know is you never lose money on beeswax. Beeswax has always been a byproduct from me. The way the world markets is I'll put my money into what I know!

[John Smith]

WOW! Mr. Householder, you are talking my language.

Wax, honey, propolis......... these are better money than cyber credits.
I can't match the ten tons, but I do have a nice little stash of wax (and honey) which is my hedge against all sorts of changes, including inflation.

There are all sorts of money making schemes on the go and it is true many have gotten quite rich playing them. The numbers of those who lost out is at least ten times as large however.

The money game itself is certainly the best of them all. Money is a very manipulable commodity these days, and boom and bust is happening on a daily basis. My apiary products are stable. The real product is its own floor under the investment, it can fall no farther than that floor. No matter what happens, I still have my wax! I enjoy having some wax up my sleeve, I sleep better beside a stack of wax than beside a stack of Enron share certificates.

The characteristics that have historically turned a commodity into money (nowadays called a monetary commodity) include these: Portable, durable, readily recognised, divisible, in public demand and with a multiplicity of applications. Paper and or the now current, Cyber Type, money are actually only extensions of receipts issued against storage or production commitments for real goods.

What makes apiary products such good 'money' is that they fill all of these requirements at the local level, despite the fact one cannot transmit much honey internationally by digital means. So if one thinks globally and acts locally, apiary products will satisfy his need for money very well indeed.

I am today surrounded by sad and worried people who have lost heavily in the stock market, or indirectly through their savings and retirement funds. My honey and wax has increased in value during the same period when their paper assets were falling. Now, regardless of what happens to the job market, I can employ myself and perhaps others, making foundation and retailing honey. I have money (in the form of honey and wax), AND OPTIMISM, they have pieces of paper with some ink on them.

With this boom on in hobbyist beekeeping the price of wax should soar. You all know what is happening with the honey.

Cheers,
JohnS

[StevenG]

I like the way you pros think! I'm not a pro... last year had 3 hives, lost one overwinter, expaned up to 14 this year, headed to 30 next year, goal is to have 50 going strong in 4 years when I retire. I figure the honey and wax and sale of bees will give me additional retirement income when Social Security fails, as it will.

We do what we can to support ourselves and our families. I pity the ones who are afraid of work.
Regards,
Steven

[bhfury]

ABJ - West Central - Light $2.20-$2.50/lb Dark $2.05-$2.25/lb.

[jean-marc]

So you'll undersatand Steve G, that's the trouble I keep running into with these bees. I was born lazy and today I woke up feeling tired. What's a fellow to do?

Jean-Marc

[StevenG]

That's why beekeeping is so much fun, Jean-Marc! We simply provide a comfortable domicile, and collect the rent! :lpf:

[SMHC]

When you have a bad year you sell beeswax instead of honey. It like a saving account, but with beeswax.
Ron

Wouldn't you want to sell wax in good honey years and put it away in a bank if everybody else is selling it in bad years? If you've had a bad year, those around you probably have as well. Then everybody's selling wax and the price falls. Have you noticed honey and wax prices moving in opposite directions like that? I am assuming the market for your wax is relatively small geographically...maybe it isn't and it makes no difference when you sell.

Either way, seems like a good hedge. Anybody have any other good hedging strategies?

[Ian]

>>Wouldn't you want to sell wax in good honey years and put it away in a bank if everybody else is selling it in bad years?

What I gathered from his post is he uses the wax bank to as a back up to fund his operations, if the operation needs the cash injection.

Never thought of that kind of idea,
very interesting