Bulgaria exports 10,361 tonnes of honey to other EU countries in 2018
Bulgaria exported 10,361,200 kg of natural honey to other EU countries in 2018 and 392,500 kg to non-EU countries, the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) reported on May 20, which is World Bee Day. At the same time, Bulgaria imported 366,800 kg of natural honey from EU countries and 1,284,800 kg from non-EU countries.
EU member states imported 208,000,000 kg of natural honey from non-EU member states in 2018 and exported 21,000,000 kg to non-EU member states. Hungary exported to other EU member states 20,000,000 kg of honey (14% of total intra-EU exports of honey). This makes Hungary the largest intra-EU exporter of honey. China was the largest non-EU source of honey imports to the EU, having supplied 80,000,000 kg of the product.
Bulgarian Beekeepers' Union President Mihail Mihailov told BTA that this country is a major exporter of quality honey to Germany, Austria, Italy, France, the United States and Norway, among other countries.
Recently, Bulgaria also began exporting the product to the Middle East. While Bulgaria holds only 1 per cent of the EU market, it is known for the high quality of its product, Mihailov said.
He pointed to the lack of a Bulgarian brand of honey which could strengthen the country's presence on European markets.
Growing bee mortality over the last month, caused by the use of pesticides by farmers, poses a serious problem, Mihailov said. In some areas in Northern Bulgaria and in the Gotse Delchev area in the southwest, the mortality rate is almost 100 per cent, compared with a normal average rate of 10 per cent.
Source: BTA Daily News