The Basque Government regulates the beekeeping sector and honey production in the Basque Country

Establishes new distances between beekeeping farms and elements of the territory
Details the minimum content that must be included in the beekeeping book
Establishes hygiene and health requirements for extraction and packaging facilities located on beekeeping farms

Vitoria-Gasteiz 2025 07 01

The basque Governing Council has approved the decree of the Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Mrs Amaia Barredo, for the regulation of beekeeping and the establishment of a series of hygiene and health requirements for extraction and packaging facilities located on beekeeping farm premises.

The new measures will apply to beekeeping farms located within the Autonomous Community that carry out primary production and related operations, including: beekeeping with all activities related to hive management, even if they are located far from the farm's facilities; and the collection, centrifugation, extraction, packaging, and packing of honey and other beekeeping products on the farm's own premises.

"It was necessary to develop European regulations, establishing minimum hygiene requirements for the extraction and packaging of bee products located on the beekeeping farm itself. Furthermore, given the significant changes made to state and regional regulations, it was necessary to repeal the 2004 decree and approve a new regulation that compiles and develops the basic regulations applicable to beekeeping," explains Amaia Barredo.

The Territorial Councils of Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa, professional organizations, and sectoral associations and entities have been consulted in the drafting of the new decree.

Among the new features introduced by this decree are a new classification of beekeeping farms based on their size, the distances that must be maintained from different elements of the territory, the content of the beekeeping book, the requirements for honey extraction and packaging facilities on the farm itself, and new labeling requirements for primary honey production.