Propolis

[SherylMaree]

Hi there
I am new to this forum and interested in learning about New Zealand propolis. Are beekeepers harvesting it? How easy is it to buy? Keen for your thoughts. Many Thanks Sheryl

 

[Alastair]

Hi Sheryl Maree. NZ once had a busy propolis production side industry, but now that very cheap imported propolis is coming in the local commercial production has died. This is because the labour involved in collecting it costs more than what commercial buyers are now prepared to pay.

There are probably plenty of beekeepers around who still have their propolis collection mats stacked away at the back of their sheds somewhere, so if you seriously wanted some NZ produced propolis you could do that by private arrangement with an individual beekeeper, if you could get someone to produce some for you.

Something to bear in mind, propolis straight from the beehive is not pure, the bees blend it with beeswax, depending just what use they are putting it to. So to get the pure product the beeswax has to be filtered out, this is usually done by dissolving it in something that will dissolve the propolis but not the wax, and then reconstituting it. Normally done in a commercial process but could be done at home if you study up the method.

How To Clean Propolis - Purifying Black Gold In Our Hives!! - Beekeeper Tips

In this article, I will show you how to clean propolis using a few methods I have developed over the years. We will first look at what propolis is, and then at how to clean propolis and produce tinctures and medicines for ourselves. What’s Propolis? The ancient Greek words Pro for in front and...

beekeepertips.com

 

[SherylMaree]

Hi Sheryl Maree. NZ once had a busy propolis production side industry, but now that very cheap imported propolis is coming in the local commercial production has died. This is because the labour involved in collecting it costs more than what commercial buyers are now prepared to pay.

There are probably plenty of beekeepers around who still have their propolis collection mats stacked away at the back of their sheds somewhere, so if you seriously wanted some NZ produced propolis you could do that by private arrangement with an individual beekeeper, if you could get someone to produce some for you.

Something to bear in mind, propolis straight from the beehive is not pure, the bees blend it with beeswax, depending just what use they are putting it to. So to get the pure product the beeswax has to be filtered out, this is usually done by dissolving it in something that will dissolve the propolis but not the wax, and then reconstituting it. Normally done in a commercial process but could be done at home if you study up the method.

Thanks Alastair. That is a shame. Yes, I am enquiring with Beekeeping Associations to see if I can source some.

 

[Alastair]

What quantity do you want?

 

[SherylMaree]

What quantity do you want?

I am not quite sure yet, I am still investigating my options. What do 10 kgs of raw untreated propolis look like and how much is it per kilo?

 

[Alastair]

Don't have any pics, but a big dob of propolis can look a bit like a dog poop! 😮. Has a nice crisp aromatic smell though, which counteracts the nasty appearance.

Also I never jumped on the propolis bandwagon back when it was a thing, but best memory serves it was worth $300.00 or so per KG, depending on purity. It is very lightweight, so a KG is quite a large chunk.

I'm not sure but suspect, that the quality, or activity, of propolis might depend on the plants it was gathered from. I have a bee yard next to a pine forest and those bees collect large quantities of propolis, they even use it to reduce the size of their entrance when colder weather is coming.

 

[SherylMaree]

Don't have any pics, but a big dob of propolis can look a bit like a dog poop! 😮. Has a nice aromatic smell though, which counteracts the nasty appearance.

Also I never jumped on the propolis bandwagon back when it was a thing, but best memory serves it was worth $300.00 or so per KG, depending on purity. It is very lightweight, so a KG is quite a large chunk.

I'm not sure but suspect, that the quality, or activity, of propolis might depend on the plants it was gathered from. I have a bee yard next to a pine forest and those bees collect large quantities of propolis, they even use it to reduce the size of their entrance when colder weather is coming.

Ok, thanks. From my research that $300.00 is for processed propolis. I am interested in raw untreated propolis. Yes the quality differs and needs to be tested in a lab, so there is a lot to learn. How much would you sell your raw propolis?

 

[Alastair]

I don't have any.

Maybe the sticky cack I have to scrape of my hands every day when I get home but you wouldn't want that LOL

 

[Alastair]

I see your location is near Foxton. Way back, there was a commercial beekeeper based in Foxton. Not sure if they still exist, but if they do, may be worth a visit.

 

[tristan]

I am interested in raw untreated propolis. Yes the quality differs and needs to be tested in a lab,

it doesn't quite work like that as propolis mix varies massively. taking a sample from a bag of raw is a wild stab in the dark. your not going to know purity without processing it and taking the propolis out of the raw mix.

 

[tristan]

i would go talk to Arataki Honey. they are one of the big buyers of it.

 

[Alastair]

As memory serves, they used to pay for it after they had refined it, so they knew what they were getting.