The fourteenth Honey Fair is staged in the square of the Metropolitan Cathedral “God’s Birth” in central Chisinau during September 21-23. Almost 20,000 beekeepers from different districts of the country exhibited their products on the first day of the fair, IPN reports.

Mihail Zlazov, beekeeper from Bașcalia village of Basarabeasca district, said the apicultural year 2018 was a harder one for beekeepers. The apicultural association he manages had a harvest that was by 30% lower than last year. “There was draught in spring and there was a shortage of pollen. The lack of rain led to a lower production. The acacia honey was practically compromised and the production was more than twice lower than last year. The production of linden tree honey was also twice lower. The harvest of polyfloral honey was better,” he stated.

Marina Capmali, beekeeper from Ocnița district, said that the harvest of acacia honey is much lower than last year, but that of polyfloral honey is better. “We collected 25 to 45 kg of honey from bee families. The harvest is lower than last year, but the prices for buyers remained the same,” she stated.

According to Ion Maxim, head of the National Association of Beekeepers of Moldova, the 2018 honey harvest is by 15-20% lower than last year. The bee families passed from winter practically directly to summer. There was draught and then heavy rain and the production of honey was affected. It was cold in the evening and warm during the day and the plants didn’t produce nectar.

The polyfloral honey is sold wholesale for 25-35 lei, the linden tree honey for 45-50 lei, while the acacia tree honey for 55-70 lei. One kilogram of polyfloral honey at the market costs 50-70 lei, of linden tree honey - 60-80 lei, while of acacia honey - 90-120 lei.

According to statistics, there are about 6,000 beekeepers in Moldova. These manage 120,000 bee families.