Over 30 beekeepers from different parts of Moldova are exhibiting their products at the Beekeepers’ Fair that takes place during August 19-21 at Chisinau’ Metropolitan Cathedral Square. The event marks the National Beekeeper's Day, celebrated annually on August 19.
Marina Capmoale comes from Lipnic village, Ocnița district. She has been beekeeping for 42 years, since the age of 24, together with her husband. They started out with just two hives, for a personal health-related reason. Little by little, they turned the activity into a business. The woman says that when she works with the bees she is full of energy. She is among the few beekeepers to sell pumpkin honey, at a price of 120 lei per kilogram. The Capmoales still have rapeseed honey to collect this year, which they intend to sell at a price of 100 lei for a kilogram. The cheapest is polyflora honey, at 80 lei a kilo and lavender honey is a bit more expensive, at 90 lei a kilo.
This summer’s drought affected the honey yields. Notably, no lime honey was collected this year. But sunflower honey made up for it. The beekeeper from Lipnic says that the acacia honey yields also exceeded expectations.
Beekeeping is also a family business for Mihaela and Mihai Surdu, who offer buyers wax candles with strawberry, rose, vanilla, cinnamon, and lavender flavors, among other products. Acacia honey is their most expensive product on display, at 170 lei a kilo. Pollen, propolis tincture and “bee cocktail” are other products that can be found on the Surdus’ stand.
“Beekeeping is an occupation that must be loved, but first of all the bees must be loved and respected if you want them to provide you with all its products”, says Mihai Surdu, a third-generation beekeeper.
Every year the Surdus invest around 100,000 lei in their business. Part of the money comes from governmental subsidies. Now they care for 400 families of bees, and this year they collected around 10 tons of honey. Acacia honey was plentiful compared to last year, but sunflower honey not so much. The Surdus had to feed the bees honey collected in May so they wouldn’t starve. Due to the drought, field flowers dried up and the bees did not have enough nectar to collect.
2022 is a year with many challenges for beekeepers. Mihai Surdu says that the biggest hassle was the almost three-fold increase in the price of diesel, but also the fact that the price of frames and other consumables and equipment for bees has doubled. At the same time, honey is sold at the same price as last year, and for some types of beekeeping products the price even decreased. In addition to this, this year the Surdus were unable to export honey, as the offered price is 20-30% lower than last year, which would be at their loss.
The Fair is open from 8:00AM to 6:00PM. The event is organized by the National Association of Beekeepers, in partnership with the Buiucani Sector administration.
