The Republic of Moldova does not have a bee honey consumption culture as the European countries have. In those countries, the honey is mandatorily served at breakfast at health resorts and not only, while in Moldova there are persons who hadn’t tasted honey up to a particular age. The existence of such a culture like in the European countries would stimulate the demand on the domestic market, president of the National Beekeepers Association of Moldova Ştefan Condratiuc stated for IPN.

“The bee honey consumption culture is a policy that is beneficial to generations, for forming the immune system of the growing generation and the older generation and is generally beneficial to the entire population. It generates jobs and reduces costs in healthcare,” said Ștefan Condratiuc, noting that the state policies should be aimed at ensuring the saturation of the domestic market and at supporting beekeepers so that they are competitive in terms of prices and on the foreign market.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the yearly average consumption of bee honey in 2019 was 0.7 kg.

Ștefan Condratiuc noted the weather conditions last year weren’t favorable for bees as it was drought. In winter the temperatures were unstable and the acacia trees bloomed later and in parts got frozen. The beekeepers don’t expect a good acacia honey harvest. Linden tree honey will also be lower in quantity.

The prices on the European markets to which most of the Moldovan honey is exported didn’t grow as the supply trebled during the last ten years. Considerable quantities of honey come from South America, Indonesia, China, India, Turkey, and Ukraine.

As the apicultural season only starts, the first honey this year will be exported at the start of July. Until then producers will export honey from last year’s stores. Exports this year were smaller owing to the pandemic restrictions and to the lower demand on the foreign market.

In Moldova, there are about 8,000 beekeepers. Their 260,000 bee families produce approximately 6,000 tonnes of honey a year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the largest quantities of honey last year were exported to Italy (923.8 tonnes), Slovakia (660.1 tonnes), Romania (645.9 tones), France (525 tones), the Czech Republic (341.2 tonnes) and Germany (264.8 tonnes). Moldova in 2017 exported the largest quantity of honey in the last five years – 5,010.5 tonnes. In 2018, it exported 4,123.5 tonnes, while last year – 3,888.9 tonnes.

Word Bee Day is celebrated on May 20.