Indian prickly pear honey with royal jelly, dark Canarian black bee, avocado or Teide tajinaste honey; cheeses with curry or fine herbs and wines listán prieto, listán negro, rosé, red, dry malvasía, vijariego and so on up to more than twenty varieties. The XII Regional Fair of Wine, Cheese and Honey of the Canary Islandsorganized by the Commonwealth of Municipalities of Medianía, brought together thousands of people this Saturday in the Vega de San Mateo to celebrate the festival of the primary sector of the islands in an event in which there was no shortage of other products such as gofio, sweets and a tasting of different tapas made with baifo as part of the presentation of the ‘Come Cabrito for Christmas’ campaignpromoted by Asoquegran, to encourage you to put this product on the table during the upcoming holidays.
At the fair, which continues during the day this SundayMore than thirty local producers and those from other islands participate. that, although the majority have made an effort to contain the price of their products, a few have had no choice but to pass on the increase in costs and the drop in production as a result of the heat waves on the price. final that customers pay. The price of some honey has risen by up to 25% and that of wine by 10%, two or three euros; Of course, the producers clarify, this slight increase in cost has not affected sales.
Luis Manzano, a beekeeper from Santa Lucía, is producing dark honey from the black Canarian bee, a honey with much more consistency than that of the yellow bee because it spends up to three times longer in the honeycomb. Of 130 hives he has lost 20 due to lack of rain, which has caused its honey production to fall by up to 60%. «From the hives from which I used to get 10 or 12 kilos of honey, I now get three or four», he points out. This has translated into an increase in price, since in their case the jar of black bee honey has risen from 12 to 15 euros, that is, 25%. “But it is a honey that is well accepted,” and at this fair he expects to run out of product due to its high demand.
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From La Guancha, in Tenerife, arrives Roberto Méndez, from Zum Zum Honey, with avocado, chestnut, Tenerife tajinaste or agave honey, and even with chocolate with honey. “People take everything because everything is different,” she points out. With the Tenerife fire lost 100 hives and had losses of about 70,000 eurosbut despite this it has not raised its prices because “honey is a product that must reach all consumers”, which is why it sells the jars between 8 and 12 euros.
Iván Santana, from Colmenar La Violeta, in Telde, offers a new Indian prickly pear honey with royal jelly at the fair, in addition to a honey that has just won the silver pig award in the Tenerife contest. This year its production has fallen by about 180 kilos, but the honey it produces is of better quality and despite this it maintains its prices.
In the field of wines, Etna Fernández, from the Carlos Fernández palm tree winery, offers up to 10 varieties of wines such as vijariego, listán prieto or black or fruity. First timers at this fair and with bottles between 7 and 12 euros, the objective of this Breña Baja winery is “to share and make known the Canarian product.” Roberto Padrón, from Bodegas Cornicales, in El Hierro, has the same intention. With dry white and red wines, he boasts a production that in 2018, when he started, was barely 2,000 liters and now exceeds 8,000 liters of wine. Despite the increase in costs, such as the pallet of bottles that two years ago I bought for 450 euros and now for 730, 65% more, their wines can be purchased for 12 euros in any of their varieties.
Tenerife-born Damián Díaz, from Bodegas Vento, also knows wines, who offers young red and white wines and is achieving a grape production 4,000 kilos higher than in 2022, when he harvested 16,000 kilos. Its prices have grown by 10% due to the increase in costs; as does Lanzarote-born Víctor Díaz, from Bodegas Vulcano, a regular at this fair to which he brings dry, semi-sweet and rosé malvasías. He explains that the total production in Lanzarote this year has been 3.3 million kilos of grapes, 70% more, but in his case, due to costs, the price has increased by 0.80 cents. However, people consume. “Consumers are spending, they seem eager.”
In the world of cheeses, Rayco Ramos, from the Caprarius ranch in Fuerteventura, proposes cheeses with curry or fine herbs, as well as gofio and paprika. “There is more demand for the cheeses we produce, but we do not reach all of them due to the lack of goats in the Canary Islands,” he points out, while regretting that with the increase in costs his company has not raised consumer prices and they are practically working at a loss. .
