Given the recent abundance of sour economic news, today’s Owl looks at something sweet: Alberta’s honey production!

Alberta is, in fact, Canada’s natural honey-producing powerhouse. At 38.9% of Canada’s production by weight and 34.7% by dollar value, Alberta led all provinces in 2021.

We were also home to the largest number of bee colonies at 317,500 or 39.2% of the total.

Saskatchewan was in second place at 21.9% of Canada’s honey production by weight and 21.2% by dollar value with Manitoba not far behind at 20.8% and 20.6%, respectively.

Although the volume of production in Alberta this year was lower than the record set in 2006, it was 13.6% higher than in 2020.

Meanwhile, the dollar value of Alberta’s honey output in 2021 was the highest on record at $96.4 million—a 44.1% increase over 2020. According to Statistics Canada, “lower production and less supply since 2017 contributed to higher prices and value for honey in 2021.”

At $8.8 million, the dollar value of exports of Alberta honey to other countries was up by 6.7% over the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. Japan is our largest international customer followed by the United States.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Founded in 1472 in the Tuscan city of Siena, Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena is the oldest surviving bank in the world.

Today’s trivia question: How many legs do bees have?