Increased revenue from pollination services, where honeybees are placed in crops to facilitate or improve yields, and higher honey prices helped the financial improvement in 2006-07 compared with that of 2001-02.

Increasingly, beekeepers are not just producers of honey.

They are also increasingly, providers of pollination services that help sustain agriculture and feed the nation, according to a new ABARE survey released today.

But ensuring there are adequate levels of pollination services to meet future demand in the horticulture sector is of particular concern at the moment, with mounting challenges facing the beekeeping industry.

These finding comes from a 2006-07 ABARE survey commissioned by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), released today by Dr Peter O’Brien, managing director of RIRDC and Phillip Glyde, executive director of ABARE.

Dr O’Brien said an estimated 28pc of honey bee businesses already provide pollination services.

This is likely to grow, with 36pc of beekeepers expecting to commence or expand pollination services in the future.

“Despite improved performance, the industry is facing a number of challenges including drought, pest and diseases, access to public land and meeting future pollination demand,” said Dr O’Brien.

The report presents results from a survey conducted by ABARE in June 2008, of 135 beekeepers.

It presents estimates of production, socioeconomic and financial characteristics of honeybee businesses during 2006-07.

“While the average cash operating surplus of honeybee businesses has risen in real terms by 40pc between 2000-01 and 2006-07, their rate of return on capital invested remained negative at -3pc on average,” said Mr Glyde.

“Financial performance was substantially better for larger beekeeping businesses - operating more than 1000 hives - which achieved a rate of return to capital of almost 5pc, indicating economies of scale.”

The ABARE survey of beekeepers forms part of the RIRDC Honeybee R&D program, which aims to increase profitability of Australian honeybee businesses.