This year is expected to be a difficult one for the Greek beekeeping industry, as the sector is directly affected by climate change.
At the same time, the phenomena of honey imports from countries such as China and Ukraine, which are sold at a significantly lower price than Greek honey, have made many beekeepers «throw up their hands», asking the state to address the issues.
«The Greek market has been “sunk” by “Greek honey”, resulting in Greek honey being devalued,» said the President of the Federation of Beekeeping Associations of Greece (OMSE), Kostas Leontarakis, to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.
Problems have also been caused by imports of Ukrainian honey, according to him, which enters the European market duty-free.
Greek honeys, although of high quality, usually come second with him noting that «there are legislative loopholes. There are control mechanisms but they need to be activated and “throw” fines where they should be.».
However, the phenomenon of illegal honey standardization is not only a Greek phenomenon. Similar problems have other countries of the European Union.
In search of solutions, the European Commission has launched a new honey platform. Experts from all over the EU will be able to submit their views on the authenticity and traceability of the product in order to tackle the «scourge» of honey adulteration.
Climate change
In recent years, climate change has become increasingly evident in many parts of the country. Those employed in the primary sector are the ones who have experienced its effects first-hand, as was evident from the devastating fires of last summer and the floods that hit Thessaly.
«We cannot tackle climate change. A living organism such as the bee cannot, since it cannot adapt to large and abrupt changes in climate and temperatures,» the President of OMSE noted.
The situation is similar for the beekeeper. The situation becomes even more difficult for the professionals in the sector in the island country. «The phenomenon is more evident in all the islands of the country where there is beekeeping and also in the Attica basin. These are areas where it is mainly thymaros, which thymar no longer exists,» he noted.
Moreover, island beekeepers do not have the advantage of «grazing» their beehives in other areas, as access to new sites is more difficult or even impossible.
According to Mr. Leontarakis, apart from the above problems, high temperatures cause «starvation» in bees. As a result, apart from a low honey harvest, there is also a loss of livestock. «We will start certifying these disasters nationwide. We want the state government to listen to us and help us with some extraordinary support,» he said.
Reduced up to 60% income
Last year's devastating fires and floods resulted in a reduction of up to 60% in the income of beekeepers,» the president of the OME told APE-MPA.
And he added «with the drought already in place, we estimate that income could fall by as much as 80%». Finally, according to Mr. Leontarakis this year is expected to eliminate thyme honey from the market, while the same risk exists for pine honey. «Thyme honey will not exist. This period with the heatwave is critical, while there is a risk that pine honey will not appear,» he said.
Th. Papakostas
