Romanian beekeepers harvested more than 30,000 tons of honey in 2017 and exported some 12,200 tons of it, according to official statistics. Exports stood at EUR45.8 million and the main destinations were Germany (EUR14.4 million), Italy (EUR7.9 million) and Japan (EUR5.5 million), Eurostat data show.
“The good stuff gets exported. The Romanians eat the cheap honey, the Germans eat the expensive one. If the government issued a law requiring labels to show how much of the honey is Romanian and how much is imported, Romanians would probably be more selective. I sell mostly to Western Europe, to Italy, Germany, Spain and France,” said Dorin Dogar, general manager of Apiprodex based in Targu Mures.
The company exports 90% of its production and posted EUR3.2 million revenue last year.
Romania imported more than 3,600 tons of honey worth over EUR9.3 million in 2017. The main countries Romania imports honey from as shown by 2017 figures are the Republic of Moldova (EUR3.5 million), Poland (EUR1.4 million) and Hungary (EUR1.2 million), according to Eurostat.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)