Honey-lovers forage for borage

Sweet, light and runny, borage honey has emerged as a favourite variety among connoisseurs of the sticky stuff in recent years. So why have the shelves suddenly emptied? Some do say that designer yoghurt may be to blame.

An unpretentious annual herb with attractive blue star-shaped flowers, borage has been grown across swathes of East Yorkshire since its healthy nutritional qualities were first harnessed commercially thirty years ago. Its tiny black seeds are pressed to extract oil which, as Starflower Oil, is sold in capsule form as an aid to blood circulation and to alleviate skin disorders.

Farmers who grow the herb allow hives to be placed directly in the borage fields. The bees pollinate the flowers, while up to 100lbs of honey can be collected from each of the dozen or so hives in every field. 

However producers are reporting a sudden glut of borage oil, and consequently demand for the crop has plummeted. Without contracts from the oil manufacturers, farmers can’t afford to grow borage for the honey alone, so borage honey supplies are all but exhausted.

Insiders point to one major event that rocked the market.

In 2007, French-based yoghurt manufacturer Danone introduced its Essensis range, claiming that a daily pot would “nourish your skin from within”. Aimed primarily at affluent young women, Essensis was infused with a blend of nutrients which included borage oil.

After some early success, the recession bit and designer belts tightened. Demand slumped so drastically that Danone withdrew the range from the UK market in February 2009, leaving acres of borage already growing and vast quantities of oil in cold storage, all surplus to requirements.

Chris Houghton, Managing Director of one of the biggest UK borage oil producers, Northstar Lipids of Lincolnshire, said “If Essensis had succeeded, global demand for borage oil would have virtually doubled. When it failed, the impact on the market was substantial”.

“To be fair to Danone they have honoured their commitments to suppliers in a professional manner. However the market is now left with a glut of oil that I estimate will last for 12-18 months”.

Oil and honey producers are worried that farmers may be reluctant to start growing borage once the market recovers, earning a better income from other commodities.

Lester Quayle, from East Riding Honey, of Beverley, East Yorkshire said “The market price for borage hasn’t changed for years, whereas oilseed rape, for example, has gone through the roof. There are barely 100 acres of borage being grown across East Yorkshire now compared to 5000 previously. There’s tremendous competition to get your hives into these fields”.

Meanwhile Chris Houghton is working hard within the industry to promote borage’s home-grown eco-friendly credentials and find new uses for the oil, the cosmetics market being a particular target.

And help may also be at hand from an unlikely source. With borage oil thought to promote healthy blood circulation, it is being mentioned in online medical forums as a natural remedy for erectile dysfunction in men. Borag-ra, anyone?

© Ian Taylor October 2009 An edited version of this article has appeared in The Big Issue in The North