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Agriculture: Romania exports 50-60% of total honey production annually; 80% of exports go to Germany
Romania exports 50-60% of the total production of honey annually, the main export markets being Germany, Spain and the Northern countries, areas where the largest honey consumption is registered, according to the president of Beekeepers Association (ACA), Ioan Fetea, at the National Honey Fair.
He pointed out that Romania continues to export raw honey because it is hard to enter the European market with processed products if there are no serious distributors for stores. According to the quoted source, one of the reasons for which foreigners prefer to buy raw Romanian honey is that it is often used for its extraordinary qualities.
The ACA president considers that the ecological sector had a good start in Romania because of the financial support granted by EU for the conversion to the ecological system, but the support disappears when bee growers finish conversion and get their licence. “The ecological honey sector had a very good start in Romania. About 100,000 bee families are in conversion and licensing. About 3,000- 3,500 tons of ecological honey was obtained in the best years. The question is that, at present, the bee growers who were in the conversion period and benefited from financial support disappeared after getting their license. We expect to see the funds ecological bee growing will have in the new PNDR 2014-2020,” Fetea explained.
In Romania the first certified ecological bee growers were registered in 2000, recording an increase from 132 in 2005 to 335 in 2006 , 584 in 2008 and over 1,200 at present, according to statistic data of the Ministry of Agriculture.
While in 2000, Romania produced only 6 tons of ecologically certifies honey, in 2005 it grew 100 times to 610 tons, in 2008 to 2,300 tons, in 2009 - 3,200 tons and at present over 3,500 tons.
According to ACA data, in 2014 the honey production obtained in Romania dropped by half because of drought in the west of the country and excessive rains in the south, while the price of honey went up by 15%.
Romania produces an average of 20,000 tons of honey yearly, ranking fourth in Europe and there were 1.47 million bee families last year. At national level there are about 40,000 registered bee growers, over 60% of them being ACA members with an effective of 900,000 bee families.
Statistic data show that Romanians consume an average of 450-500 grams of honey per capita/per year, a quantity growing in the last ten years. Compared to 2 kg consumed in Germany, 1.5 kg in the Netherlands and Belgium, they rank among the last in Europe. The 12th edition of the National Honey Fairs opened at Apicola Baneasa for four days with 100 honey producers.
The bee growers’ offer is varied, being made from various flowers and plants. There is also pollen, royal jelly, energizing products based on honey, in combination with exotic or wild fruit. Prices vary between 10 and 60 lei, depending on type, quantity and combinations.