Globalism strikes again, with Polish beekeepers facing crisis as an increasing amount of cheap, so-called “technical honey” from Eastern Europe and Asia flooding the markets. In combination with the high costs of maintaining traditional apiaries, many Polish beekeepers are being forced to cease operations.
Representatives from beekeeping associations are raising alarms that apiaries are being shut down at an alarming rate, with a potential year-over-year loss of up to 30 percent of all bee colonies.
If this trend continues, Polish honey, renowned for its health benefits and delicious taste, will become both rare and expensive.
Previously, terms like “bakery honey” or “industrial honey,” also known as “artificial honey,” were used. Now, the term “technical honey” refers to very low-quality products that do not meet standards but are swiftly imported and sold to consumers at a fraction of the cost, often using fraudulent labeling.
“Ukraine is just a middleman; these honeys often come from China and Turkey and are of poor quality,” says Przemysław Maciąg, a board member of the Beekeeping Association. He notes that these honeys also negatively impact the Polish market, as many dishonest traders purchase them and sell them as Polish products, misleading consumers.
Trade in cheap honey is having severe consequences. Many beekeepers will give up their business as the market for Polish, high-quality honey is shrinking — partly due to inflation pressures. Polish beekeepers are losing out to “technical honey.” As a result, the costs of maintaining apiaries are becoming unsustainable.
“It’s mainly small apiaries, and the scale of the problem will truly be assessable in a few months when we receive full information on how many bee families have been prepared for wintering,” Maciąg explains. He confirms the issues based on his own circle of beekeepers.
“Just a year ago, there were about 1,500 bee families; now, there are only about 1,000. So, we are talking about a third less in a short time,” he said.
Maciąg, who runs an apiary with his wife Sylwia in the village of Ryszewo in northwestern Poland, does not want to shut down but points out another looming issue: “We might soon be dealing with an ecological time bomb.”
The difficulties in selling honey directly translate into a lack of investment in apiaries, as well as a lack of funds for fuel costs, purchasing new frames, increasing the number of bee families, and most importantly, paying for medications.
“Bees are getting sick, and medications are often required, such as vaccines. The costs of these medications have skyrocketed, and not every beekeeper can afford them today,” Maciąg explained.
For those who still want to work with bees, the fear is real. Untreated insects in small apiaries could lead to the spread of various diseases and infect more bee families, including those in other colonies. “It’s a ticking ecological bomb; if this happens, we will face a mass extinction of bees. I hope it will not come to this, but we must expect the worst,” says Maciąg.
Beekeepers say that those who do not want to give up their operations are making tough decisions and reducing the number of families in their apiaries due to huge problems with selling honey.
It is hard to predict how much Poles will be willing to pay for honey at the end of the year. All signs indicate that Eastern honey will continue to flood the Polish market.
In this manner, it is clear that the war in Ukraine is also partly responsible for the crisis in beekeeping, with fuel and other input costs higher, while unrestricted market access has already slammed Polish farmers selling sunflower oil, wheat, and other products.
Polish beekeeping dates back to pre-Christian times and the country features famous regional varieties many of which have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the EU. For many years, Poles have been consuming more honey, with the 15 years preceding 2021 seeing Polish honey consumption double. However, inflation has taken its toll, and changing consumer tastes are seeing many Poles eye cheaper honey from countries like China, which is produced with the cheapest production methods possible — sweet but lacking key nutrients, anti-oxidants, and antimicrobial elements found in honey made using traditional production methods.
