Annually, Romania is exporting 50-60 percent of the total honey production, mainly to Germany, Spain and Scandinavian countries.
“Honey exports reach 50-60 percent of the annual total production of about 200,000 tons, with 80 percent of the exports going to Germany and the rest to Spain and Nordic countries, actually to the regions where the highest honey consumption is reported. The Romanian honey also reach to China or Middle East, but there are small quantities,” Ioana Fetea, the president of the Beekeepers Association in Romania said on Sunday at the National Honey Fair in Bucharest, as quoted by Agerpres.
According to him, Romania is still exporting bulk honey, as the end product is hardly accessible on the European market if there aren’t serious suppliers for stores.
Romanian Agriculture Ministry says there are over 1,200 ecological beekeepers now in Romania, which produce over 3,500 tons of honey and about 40,000 general beekeepers countrywide.
On average, Romania is producing 20,000 tons of honey on an annual basis, ranking 4th in Europe. Last year, there were 1.47 millions bee families in Romania.
Yet, last year the honey production halved due to the western drought and the excessive rainfalls in the south, and the honey price went up by 15 pc.
Statistics reveal that Romanians are poor honey consumers, eating an average of 400-500 grams annually per inhabitant. The figure is however up compared to ten years ago but it is still much bellow other European countries. For example, Germans eat 2 kilos of honey annually per inhabitant, while The Netherlands and Belgium- 1.5 kilos.