Ukraine holds a leading position in production and export of honey in the world. However, the beekeeping industry has a number of challenges that require coordinated actions from the state, honey market operators and the farmers.

This was announced by Viktor Sheremeta, Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine during the “Med & Honka” forum that had been organized by a charitable foundation “LASKA” on March 27. The event was attended by the MPs, representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the local authorities, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, industry associations and enterprises, and the exporters.

“In Ukraine, approx. 90% of apiaries are privately owned. That means that the main share of honey is produced by small and medium-sized agricultural producers, which require special attention and support from the state. In this respect, in 2019, the Government added the beekeeping to the list of activities of the agricultural cooperatives that are compensated 70% of the cost of purchased equipment. The producers can also take advantage of a credit rates compensation program,” said Viktor Sheremeta.

According to the Deputy Minister, the honey market in Ukraine is export oriented, so development of a balanced and transparent market of bee products is a priority for the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. For example, the Ministry and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection have taken joint efforts in opening new sales markets for the industry, in particular, the Chinese market - for honey and the Canadian market - for export of bee packages.

Furthermore, Victor Sheremeta noted that the Ministry is now working on improvement of the regulatory framework of the beekeeping industry, in particular, it’s revising the procedure for issuing a veterinary and sanitary passport of the apiaries, registration procedures for apiaries and instructions for prevention of bee poisoning.

“Development and adoption of changes will help to create an effective and transparent accounting of apiaries, reduce cases of mass poisoning of bees and thus increase the yields of agricultural crops,” said Viktor Sheremeta.

Reference:

“LASKA” Foundation is a partner of the Ukrainian horticultural business development project (UHBDP), which is funded by the Ministry of International Affairs of Canada, co-financed and implemented by the Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA). MEDA cooperates with the Israel International Cooperation Agency (MASHAV) and international service companies to provide technical support.

Press Service of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine