Varroa mite infestation and dry weather contributed to a 2.2 percent decline in Hawai'i honey production last year, according to the local office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Beekeepers harvested 900,000 pounds of honey last year, down from 920,000 a year earlier. The number of colonies was unchanged at 10,000, but the average yield per colony was down 2.2 percent to 90 pounds.

Honey producers received on average $1.48 a pound for their product in 2008, a 12.9 percent decline from $1.70 a year before. Total farm value was $1.3 million, down 14.8 percent from the year before.

Despite the production and price declines, the farm value of honey was still the third-highest on record, behind $1.7 million in 2005 and $1.6 million in 2007.

The Agricultural Statistics Service said beekeepers reported that extreme dry weather and the varroa mite hurt honey production.

Dry weather reduces bee food sources.

The varroa mites, which kill bees and damage colonies by spreading through bee contact, were first detected in Hawai'i on O'ahu in April 2007. The reddish-brown mites were discovered to have reached the Big Island in August 2008, and attempts are being made there to contain the infestation by eradicating contaminated bee colonies.

Previously, Hawai'i was one of the few places free of the mite. If the mites spread and wipe out the state's bee population, the state Department of Agriculture estimates that costs to farmers would be $42 million to $62 million a year because of reduced pollination of flowers and food crops statewide.

Hawai'i is a medium-size producer of honey among U.S. states, ranking 25th in production volume.

Hawai'i's honey crop value ranks 26th.

However, Hawai'i's yield per colony ties for third-highest with North Dakota at 90 pounds per hive. Only South Dakota and Mississippi are higher at 95 and 98 pounds per hive, respectively.

North Dakota was the country's largest honey producer last year, with 35.1 million pounds valued at $47.4 million.

Nationally, honey production by producers with five or more colonies was up 8 percent to 161 million pounds.

The number of colonies was down 6 percent to 2.3 million, but average yield was up 15 percent to 70 pounds.

The average price paid per pound was up 31 percent to $1.41, a record.