Beekeepers sound the alarm: we eat fake Chinese products and locally made honey is left to gather dust

 Beekeepers sound the alarm: we eat fake Chinese products and locally made honey is left to gather dust

Beekeeping is a profession that has centuries-long history in Latvia. And it is in a critical state right bow. For years (five, to be exact) this sector has been in a state of economic crisis that impacts all local beekeepers, warns Latvian Beekeeping Society (LBB).

LBB Board Chairman Valters Brusbārdis comments: “Beekeeping is primarily situated in Latvian countryside. Those are small family businesses. Often it is the sole source of income for these people. To preserve beekeeping businesses in the country and residents in the countryside, the sector is in dire need of active support from the state. We need a quick solution for support of beekeeping businesses that have ended up in financial difficulties, protect the local honey market in Latvia, as well as support a solution on the European level.”

More than 3 644 (members of LBB) residents engage in beekeeping in Latvia. In 2023 Latvian beekeepers produced 2 319 tonnes of honey, ensuring domestic consumption. Some amounts were also exported – mostly to EU member states (Poland, Germany, etc.). Latvian beekeepers sell their products within European Union’s agricultural products market. This means experiencing the problems present on the EU market. The EU honey market has had several major problems that distort the market and negatively affect Latvian beekeepers for a long time.

Fake “honey” trade in the European Union

The topic of “fake honey” being sold in the EU has been a problem for several years. Unfortunately, there is factory-made honey sold in Europe! Products like that are released on the market by honey packaging companies, not beekeepers. In 2023, the European Commission published the results of an EU-coordinated study/campaign “From the Hives”. As part of the study, 16 EU Member States tested the prevalence of fake imported honey with sugar on the market (a total of 320 samples were analysed). Results were shocking – 46% of analysed samples did not meet requirements of the “Honey Directive”.

This year, in 2024, the European Professional Beekeeping Association published the results of a study that analysed honey sold in German supermarket chains (Germany is the largest honey importer in the EU).

Testing honey samples in the Estonian laboratory with molecular analysis found that 80% of the samples did not meet the criteria of natural honey.

In the spring of this year, LBB received an extract from the QSI analysis of the German laboratory for a sample of “honey” taken at a Latvian marketplace. The sample did not meet the standard of natural honey. The Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) was informed about the specific case, but active action by the state institution did not follow. The product was not removed from the marketplace due to the lack of legal and procedural arrangements in the EU to take active action.

The sample did not meet the standard of natural honey. The Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) was informed about the specific case, but active action by the state institution did not follow. The product was not removed from the marketplace due to the lack of legal and procedural arrangements in the EU to take active action.

Unfortunately, the EU is not implementing active and effective measures on the honey market to protect consumers’ interests and limit fraud in relation to counterfeit products, and the new rules on the indication of the origin of honey on the label adopted in 2024 have not yet been implemented so that honey buyers know where the honey has been harvested. EU rules adopted in 2024 will only come into force in the summer of 2026, beekeepers say.

Europe actively imports cheap honey in large quantities from third countries

Honey is one of the food products that the EU imports from third countries in significant quantities. In 2023, EU countries imported a total of 163 702 tons of honey, or EUR 359.2 million. The largest part consists of imports from China – 60 177 tonnes (2023) and Ukraine – 45 822 tonnes (2023). In the first half of 2024, from January to June, the EU imported 40 627 tonnes of honey from Ukraine alone. In comparison, in 2023, all Latvian beekeepers produced a total of 2 319 tons of honey. The amount of honey imported from China and Ukraine into the EU is equivalent to the amount produced by 46 Latvian combined.

The massive imports from China and Ukraine into the EU are disrupting the market both in other EU countries and in Latvia. EU honey packing companies – “businessmen”, import large quantities of honey from third countries, while EU beekeepers’ warehouses have been stockpiling honey for several years, which cannot be sold. Of course, in market conditions everything is determined by price. The EU average value of imported honey in the first half of 2024 from China was 1.28 EUR/kg plus customs, while from Ukraine it was 1.75 EUR/kg.

Do you know how much work it takes to produce one ton of honey with a honey bee? Working with bees is difficult. It requires knowledge and skills. No beekeeper in Latvia and the EU can produce honey for 1.75 euros/kg. This price is below the cost price.

Before the honey crisis, the wholesale price in the EU domestic market was 3.20-3.50 EUR/kg.

Cheap honey imports into the EU from third countries and honey falsification are linked. The biggest shadow of suspicion is on Chinese products. This has been the case for a long time. The accusations have also been made against Ukraine.

Based on the information provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, 40 tons of honey from China were imported into Latvia in 2023.

Often, packers mix this imported cheap product with a locally sourced product and market it as a honey blend, which is already available at the point of sale and to the consumer.

Latvian beekeepers are on the brink of crisis

Historically the beekeeping profession in Latvia has been well-paid. But the current situation is different – beekeepers have to fight for survival. Many Latvian beekeepers have honey collecting dust in warehouses, as they have to way to sell it. In the past, active exports stagnated or were non-existent altogether. Often, a beekeeper has to sell honey below cost at very low prices in order to merely make a living.

If changes do not follow, then the bankruptcy and liquidation of beekeeping companies in Latvia is inevitable.

Invitation for Latvian residents

Support from every resident in Latvia is important to preserve beekeeping traditions in Latvia, because by purchasing as little as 1 kg of honey from local beekeepers people show gratitude to the beekeeper for the work he has put into caring for bee colonies, bee health, pastures and suitable conditions for bee wintering, so that bee colonies can pollinate Latvian plants again next summer and provide REAL and delicious honey to our residents.