- There are many false statements and myths in the public space about imported honey, which is presented as a low-quality product or one that does not meet the standards applicable on the domestic and EU market.
- The Polish Chamber of Honey, which brings together Polish honey producers, denies and appeals not to repeat information that honey is imported of low quality or that it enters our country without quality control or appropriate tests.
- Imported honey is subject to strict quality control – otherwise it could not enter the European Union.
Why you need to import honey
According to data from the Polish Chamber of Honey, which brings together domestic producers, Poles consume less than 1 kg of honey per person per year, while the average for Western European countries is 1.7 kg. For comparison, Italians and Germans eat about 2 kg a year, and Greeks as much as 5 kg, which shows that the domestic market still has great potential. However, production possibilities are a limitation. According to data from the National Support Center for Agriculture, in 2022 the total honey consumption in Poland amounted to 38,000. tons, while Polish beekeepers collected a total of 24 thousand. tons of this raw material.
– Honey import is necessary to meet domestic demand because it is not possible to increase production to a level that will completely cover the demand of Polish consumers. In many parts of the country we are already observing "over-seeking", i.e. a situation where the number of bees is too large for the available area of crops necessary to produce honey. Increasing the number of apiaries operating in Poland does not solve the problem. The entire European Union is facing a similar challenge – in many EU countries, the per capita consumption of honey – including imported honey – is much higher than in Poland, and the demand definitely exceeds the production capabilities of local beekeepers, therefore importing raw materials and composing honey mixtures is necessary – explains Przemysław Rujna, secretary of the Polish Honey Chamber.
Therefore, processors use honey imported from abroad, blend it with domestic raw material and thus meet consumer demand that exceeds the production capacity of domestic producers. According to the estimates of the Polish Chamber of Honey, mixtures constitute approximately 70% of the products available in Polish stores, but their important element is still honey from domestic apiaries.
"Technical" honey – what is it?
There are many false statements and myths in the public space about honey imported from Ukraine or other countries, which is presented as a low-quality product or does not meet the standards applicable on the domestic and EU market, and is often called "technical honey".
The Polish Chamber of Honey strongly denies this information. According to data from the Trade Quality Inspection of Agricultural and Food Products (JIHARS), last year the quality of only 5 out of nearly 1,200 batches of honey introduced to our market from abroad was questioned, i.e. only 0.4%. Each batch of imported honey, before it is released to the domestic market, is carefully tested – in various and independent aspects: physicochemical (here, the parameters included in the regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development are checked, which specifies the properties that bee honey must have); for the presence of foreign sugars (here it is checked whether the honey has not been thickened with other ingredients); for the presence of prohibited substances, such as residues of antibiotics, pesticides and heavy metals, or analysis of pollen found in honey to determine its type and origin.
Testing imported honey is a multi-stage process, and each batch is checked several times.
– There is no such thing as "technical honey". Imported honey undergoes a series of very complicated tests and does not differ in quality from honey produced by Polish bees – after passing all the necessary tests and quality controls, it is simply honey, regardless of the country of origin – explains Przemysław Rujna.
There was also information in the public space that honey from China or Turkey was sent through Ukraine, which was supposed to be an intermediary in such transactions. – We ask you not to repeat this type of false information. This is physically impossible in the conditions of war there – explains Przemysław Rujna.
Honey prices and subsidies for Polish beekeepers
Some beekeeping communities often raise the issue of the low price of imported honey. Indeed, imported honey – e.g. from Asia – is cheaper than domestic honey, but this is due to market realities – completely different production costs on local markets and a large scale of purchases, and has nothing to do with its quality.
The Polish Chamber of Honey, which brings together producers who also purchase honey from Polish beekeepers, points out that every year they can apply for funding from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture under the so-called beekeeping interventions. The call for applications is usually carried out at the turn of the year, but this year, for another month – until August 14 – you can submit applications for funding in two areas:
1. combating varroasis with medicinal products – funds may be used to purchase varroacid medicinal products, not only veterinary ones, but also those containing active substances approved for use on organic farms, and up to 90% is refundable. net costs of purchasing medicines;
2. reconstruction and improvement of the use value of bees – funds may be used to purchase queen bees from breeding lines, nuclei or bee packages with queens from breeding lines, as well as nucs or bee packages from producers who have obtained the recommendation of beekeepers' unions or associations, refunds subject to up to 70 percent net costs, and the maximum funding amount is PLN 10,000.
