‘We are out of business’: Founded in 1954, 70-year-old Canadian honey farm faces bankruptcy after 50% US tariff puts 90% of its customers at risk

A family-run honey farm in Manitoba, Canada, is facing an uncertain future after the United States imposed a 50% tariff on Canadian goods, including natural honey, leaving the business worried that it may no longer be able to afford its biggest export market.

Podolski Honey Farms, based in Ethelbert, Manitoba, was founded in 1954 and is now in its third generation. The company says it supplies honey to Canada, the US and other markets.

But the latest US tariffs have put its long-standing business model under serious pressure.


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‘Effectively, we’re out of business’

Osee Podolsky, general manager of Podolski Honey Farms, said about 90% of the company's honey is sold to customers in the United States, reports CBC News.

With the new tariff in place, shipping to those customers has suddenly become far more expensive. "It's non-viable for us to ship to our usual customers that buy honey from us," Podolsky said.

He added: "Effectively, we're out of business. We can try to find more Canadian market share, but if many other beekeepers are trying to do the same, it may be a race to the bottom." The concern is particularly serious because the farm's annual honey production cycle is now reaching a crucial stage.

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Why the timing is especially difficult

Summer honey production typically wraps up around August. Once the honey is harvested, workers package it into barrels before it is shipped to buyers.

For Podolski Honey Farms, September marks the beginning of an important sales period that continues into the fall. The new tariff therefore arrives just as the company is preparing to move much of its newly harvested stock.

"It was a mad dash to get as much stock as we had in barrels, shipped to customers before the threat of tariffs," Podolsky said. He warned that continuing to sell into the U.S. market with the additional cost could become financially impossible.

"If the tariffs aren't lifted, I can't afford to sell with this kind of a tariff. I would go bankrupt."

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Canada says US demands went too far

The new tariffs followed days of negotiations between Canadian and US officials that failed to produce an agreement.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the two countries had been moving toward what he described as a "mutually beneficial agreement" before the U.S. introduced additional terms that Canada considered "uneconomic, unfair, and undermined the net benefits to Canada."

Carney said American negotiators raised concerns over Canada's French-language protections, including bilingual labeling requirements, and also proposed restrictions involving Canada's ability to negotiate trade agreements with other countries.

Carney said the US had "asked for too much and offered too little", leading Canada to walk away from the negotiations. "There were some things we wouldn't do. We were not prepared to compromise Canada's sovereignty or undermine our key industries," the prime minister said.

Canada is expected to respond with dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs after Labour Day.

Small businesses caught in the middle

For Podolsky, the dispute between the two governments is now having very real consequences for a family business that has operated for more than seven decades.

He described small businesses such as his as "collateral damage" in the trade fight, with entrepreneurs feeling "helpless" as they try to figure out what comes next.

The farm plans to fulfill its existing Canadian contracts with the honey it has available. After that, Podolsky said, the family will meet with an accountant to work out a plan for the coming months.

The company is also looking at the Canadian market, but finding enough new customers to replace the U.S. business will not be easy.

The broader Canadian honey industry is also bracing for disruption. Canada shipped nearly $28.5 million worth of honey to the U.S. last year, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada data cited by CBC.

For Podolski Honey Farms, however, the issue is immediate: a business founded by Podolsky's grandfather more than 70 years ago now faces the possibility of losing access to the market that buys most of its honey.

"I hope that we can find that our governments can reach an agreement and have these tariffs removed," Podolsky said.

"I think this is something that's going to take a little more time on both sides to reach some kind of an agreement or resolution. I just hope it's sooner rather than later."