Ceará honey exporters renegotiate with U.S. buyers to resume shipments after tariff hike

Business leaders in Ceará renegotiated directly with U.S. importers to ensure the shipment of 50 containers of honey to the United States in the second half of this year, thereby avoiding significant losses from the steep tariff imposed on Brazilian exports, which took effect on August 6.

The sector had come under intense pressure, especially since 95% of its production is exported to the U.S., and in July, cargo was even held up at the Port of Pecém while importers awaited clarity on the new measure’s implementation.

Joventino Neto, president of the Ceará Beekeepers Federation (Fecap), explained that maintaining exports required renegotiating contracts, with both sellers and buyers agreeing to reduce their profit margins.

According to him, U.S. importers are currently buying Ceará’s honey at around R$14 per kilo, down from the previous R$16. However, they resell the product abroad for R$65 to R$70 per kilo, achieving profit margins of over 300%.

Because of this, he said, they agreed to share the burden of the new tariffs with honey producers in Ceará to mitigate the impact on both sides.

“Since they [the U.S.] have very high profit margins, they split the losses because the major companies already have established clients, loyalty contracts, and logistics in place. They prepared to export about 300 tonnes per month throughout the year,” he said in an interview with Diário do Nordeste.

These supply chain agreements are taking place independently of measures announced by the Ceará state government, such as supermarket food purchases, and also separately from the federal government’s actions, announced this Wednesday (13).

Small producers to be hit hardest by profit reductions

The profit cuts, however, will impact the local honey production chain, directly affecting small and medium-sized beekeepers in Ceará, as Neto pointed out.

According to him, since most of Ceará’s 70,000 producers are not members of a cooperative, profits are expected to shrink even further as a result of renegotiations between exporters and importers.

“I’m looking to start a cooperative here in Ceará so we can export like Casa Apis [in Picos, Piauí], and the solution they’ve found is to split the losses. Once the product arrives there, they make a verbal agreement and share the losses,” he said.

“Profit margins will likely be cut by around half. And really, that gets pushed onto the backs of small-scale beekeepers, because the middlemen always earn more,” he added.

U.S. buys more than 90% of Ceará’s exported honey

Ceará exported 1,550 tonnes of honey to the United States between January and July of this year, before the tariff hike imposed by President Donald Trump took effect. The data comes from Comex Stat, a platform run by Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC).

According to the same data, this figure represents 95% of Ceará’s total honey exports in 2025. The U.S. purchased US$5.3 million worth (R$28.6 million at current exchange rates) of Ceará’s honey.

Beyond the United States, Ceará honey is also being targeted at the European market this year. In 2025, Italy and the United Kingdom imported the product, albeit in much smaller volumes.

The results show that Ceará honey has gained significant traction in the U.S. market, particularly given that domestic consumption in Brazil remains relatively low compared to the U.S. and Europe.

Source: Diário do Nordeste

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