Have you ever wondered why, unlike honey that is also a product of bees, the royal jelly costs so much? According to the forestry, it can also cost 600 €/kg And some marketing analyzes provide that the global royal jelly market could exceed 2 billion dollars in 2031. The problem lies in its production and in the collection techniques: you have to wait for the right time, that is when it is produced in excess during theBreeding of a new Ape Regina. The need for trained operators, the relatively scarce production and the origin of the royal jelly contribute to increasing their costs, despite the basic technique to collect it is quite simple.
The collection of royal jelly
The royal jelly is produced as nourishment of the Regina bee and larvae in the first 3 days of life. To produce more, you need to convince the nurse bees a produce more queens, Outside the normal conditions in which these are produced (the jaming from one hive to the other or the replacement of the previous queen).
There are various techniques, which in general provide for isolate the queen beeconvincing the nurse bees that there is a need to raise a new one, or isolate the larvaewith the same result. The latter, called graftit is similar to the grafts that are made for the plants: a 1 -day larva is taken from the brooding cell and moves it to an artificial container. To nourish this larva, the nurses will produce more royal jelly, until the collection and larva restored in the initial brood on the third day.
It is a relatively simple method with not too high costs that allows you to separate even more larvae. The problem, however, is that you have to act with caution, To avoid damage to the hive, the larvae, the queen and obviously also to beekeepers: therefore even if the required equipment and the procedure are simple, they are necessary formed and specialized operators. In any case, as reported by FAO (organization of the United Nations for nutrition and agriculture) during a season of 5-6 months you can get to produce About 500 g of royal jelly. A relatively small amount to meet the growing market demands.
In addition, it is a product highly perishable, which must be specially refrigerated and sold in a short time. The alternative is the liophilisationwhich allows you to keep it longer, increasing the costs of the product.
The commercial success of the royal jelly.
The commercial success of the royal jelly seems to be linked to his compositionrich in nutrients and vitamins, and the fertility and longevity of the queens bees. For this, taking advantage of the charm and theRoyale allure and exclusive of this substance, since the 1950s it has begun to be considered a cure -all and to appear in cosmetics and food supplements.
As we have seen, however, both the reduced that the appraisal and experience necessary for collection procedures, they contribute to increasing costs. However, methods are developing other than innence, sometimes automated and therefore require less work. All this leads to an increase in its value, also because it is seen as a luxury good. It is estimated that the global market for 2025 is approximately 1.4 billion dollars, with one projection at 2031 of 2.1 billion dollars.
One of the factors that lead to an increase in prices is also the origin: a royal jelly produced in Italy, or in countries that have greater control, can cost more. However, this also leads to scams and fraud. For example, in 2014, in Italy the Forestry body He conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of a retailer who bought the royal jelly from China and then sell it as an Italian product. According to estimates, those who perpetuate these scams can buy € 30-35/kg the Chinese royal jelly and then sell it to 600 €/kg indicating Italy as a place of origin.
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