Moldova last year exported approximately 3,500 tonnes of raw bee honey, by 200 tonnes more that in 2020 owing to the larger quantities produced by Moldovan beekeepers.

However, the quantity of honey exported in 2021 is far from the export figures of 2017, when 5,100 tonnes of honey were sold abroad. Last year, even if there was sufficient precipitation, the effects of the drought of 2020, when many bee families died, had an impact, Vasile Dolghieru, president of the Association of Exporters of Apiculture Products, has told IPN.

About 95-98% of the honey exported by Moldova reached markets in the EU, while the rest went to markets in Canada and the U.S. The apiculture products of Moldova have been exported to Canada and the U.S. for four years.

The poliflora honey in 2021 was exported at the price of €2.4-2.9 per kg. Acacia honey was sold for €6 per kg.

Buckwheat honey and coriander honey are not exported separately as the quantities of such types of honey are very small in Moldova and they are primarily consumed domestically. The exported poliflora honey contains small amounts of buckwheat honey and coriander honey, said Vasile Dolghieru.

The largest quantities of raw honey are exported to Italy, France, Slovenia, Romania, Poland, and Germany.