This is very disturbing news. Apiaries are being liquidated rapidly, and compared to year to year, the loss of up to 30% of all bee colonies may occur. If this trend continues, Polish honey will be very difficult to obtain – it will be expensive and rare. Those who want to maintain apiaries are afraid that high maintenance costs will lead to further problems, such as lack of money for the treatment of bee diseases.
It started with "technical honeys"
Until then, terms such as "baker's honey" or "industrial honey", also known as "artificial honey", were used. Meanwhile, the term "technical honey" is assigned to very low-quality products that do not meet standards, but thanks to the use of such a name, it quickly crosses the border. The situation in Ukraine is used to import it into Poland.
– In fact, Ukraine is only a kind of intermediary, honey often comes from China and Turkey, honey of poor quality, which may even have a negative impact on the health of people who consume it – says Przemysław Maciąg, Member of the Board of the Provincial Beekeeping Association. – These honeys also have a negative impact on the Polish market. The price of these honeys is very low, many dishonest traders buy and sell them as Polish products, misleading consumers, he adds.
It turns out that the trade in cheap and often questionable quality honey from the East continues. Many beekeepers will give up their business because there is no market for high-quality Polish honey. Polish beekeepers are losing out on the market with "technical" honey. Therefore, the costs of maintaining apiaries become unbearable.
– These are mainly small apiaries, we will be able to assess the scale of the problem in a few months, when we will receive full information on how many bee families have been prepared for wintering – says Przemysław Maciąg. – However, I can confirm the problems with my group today. A year ago there were about 1,500 bee colonies, now there are only about 1,000 of them, so we are talking about one third less in a short period of time – he explains.
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More time for payment applications in the case of two beekeeping interventions
Przemysław Maciąg and his wife Sylwia run an apiary in Ryszew near Pyrzyce. I don't want to liquidate mine, but it points to one more problem.
High risk of disease
Problems with the sale of honey directly translate into the lack of investment in apiaries, as well as the lack of funds for fuel costs, the purchase of new frames, increasing the number of colonies and, most importantly, for medicines.
– Bees get sick, medicines are often required. The costs of these medicines have increased dramatically, and not every beekeeper can afford them today, explains Przemysław Maciąg.
And here comes fear for those who still want to work with bees. Untreated insects in small apiaries can lead to the spread of various diseases and infect other bee colonies.
– This is a ticking ecological bomb, if this happens, we will face a mass extinction of bees. I believe this will not be the case, but we must expect the worst, says Przemysław Maciąg.
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He stole six hives along with the bees. Apparently he wanted to protect insects
As we learn from the Provincial Beekeeping Association in Szczecin, many beekeepers who do not want to give up their activities make difficult decisions and reduce the number of colonies in apiaries because they have a huge problem with selling honey.
For now, it is difficult to predict how much we will pay for honey at the end of the year. Everything indicates that honey from the East will permanently flood the Polish market, and consumers will have more and more problems with access to honey from the region. They must also take into account that Polish products will be much more expensive than honey imported from Asia.
