‘Bees killed males’ in black year for European beekeepers

This year, black brewed in many European beekeepers, where they yielded the worst honey yields due to unpredictable weather, especially in France and Italy.

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Coldiretti, Italy's main agricultural union, said that 2019 is a "black year," and from the 23,300 tonnes of honey collected in 2018, "almost yield is cut in half."

In France, according to the French Beekeeping Federation, in France it is expected to be "the worst on record," "less than 9,000 tonnes," which corresponds to almost a quarter of crops harvested in the 1990s.

Romania was about 30,000 tonnes of European honey "champion" in 2018. However, the ROMAPIS Association said the country's output this year will fall below the average of 25,000 tons this year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, for Spain, the main country in terms of hives, the yield was poor since 2015, 5.2{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} in 2017 and the 2018 season was an "unexpected" season. .

Climate crisis condemned

Coli Reti said that more than 1,000 extreme weather events occurred in Italy between January and early September, up over 50{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} in 2018, including hail, storms and heat waves.

In France, spring was suddenly cold, causing a heat wave at the end of June. In some parts of southern France, the honeycomb melted wax and trapped bees, UNAF said.

According to beekeeper Marian Patrascu, in Romania, "the lack of rainfall last fall and winter hit the rapeseed crops strongly," leading to "very low honey production."

According to Italy, France, and Romanian beekeepers, frost, drought and heavy rains have reduced flowers or flowers without honey.

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The decline in production in Italy is expected to lead to a decline in imports of 37 million euros this year, in addition to feed costs.

Worst beekeepers will struggle to cover the costs, especially for young farmers with high debt.

All are fixing hope for better weather conditions next year.

But Gilles Lanio, president of UNAF, is afraid of "backlash."

To save the colony, "they killed all the males to get rid of the extra mouth to feed the bees". The lack of males for mating can lead to a "lack of a fertilized queen" next spring, which means fewer new colonies and fewer bees.

According to a French Cyclops report, the death rate from bees has recently surged due to the "epidemic" of Varroa parasitic mites, the uncontrolled spread of Asian Hornets in Europe, and the "intensive use of pesticides in agriculture."

Chinese honey

Beekeepers are alarming about mass imports of Chinese honey, for example, cut into syrup and called "adult".

At present, there are no European legislation requiring producers to specify the source of honey.

Even if the product contains 99{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} Chinese honey and only 1{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of French honey, the label can state that "a form of honey originated from the European community and mixed with non-origin".

In Spain, beekeepers have made several protests about cheap Chinese honey, and the authorities plan to implement a new labeling requirement to list the percentage of honey contained per country of origin.

In France, from January 1, 2020, a law is enacted that will list all countries that have supplied more than 20{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of honey in jars by importance.

North Europe

In the summer of 2018, especially hot summers, renewed interest in beekeeping in Norway and Sweden, but it is still a small activity.

According to the Norwegian Beekeepers Association, which currently has 4,000 members compared to 2,500 years ago, production is about 1,300 tons, far from the local market.

In Denmark, where production began in 2018, local producers found it difficult to change production.

The American Beekeepers Association says more than 800 tons of unsold inventory remains due to fierce competition with cheap foreign honey.

Source: AFP