Bulgarian honey still manages to hold its position on the market, despite fierce competition, said Eng. Dr. Andrey Velchev from the association “For Affordable and Quality Food” on the programme “The Day Begins” on May 21.
Beekeepers raise alarms over counterfeit honey and pressure from cheap imports in the sector
“We know how much imported honey there is in Bulgaria. The most unusual thing is that honey is now being imported even from countries like China. The major issue there is that honey is produced in huge halls where bees do not even see sunlight, but are raised artificially – on heaters and under lamps – and in no way resembles nature, which is the purpose of all bee products. However, Bulgarian honey is managing to compete, thanks to farmers’ markets and direct purchases from producers in smaller towns. We know many young people, like you and our viewers, who at weekends prefer to travel to places where they can buy products directly from producers. And here I strongly believe that the Ministry of Agriculture should also consider how to facilitate this – through dialogue with local authorities to create more such venues,” he said.
Control needs to be improved, Andrey Velchev believes.
“Control is to some extent subjective. Even if a honey or bee-product producer is inspected, the results remain only with the Food Safety Agency, and we are not able to understand whether a particular honey is counterfeit or not. If a producer is sanctioned, it is simply stated that continuous inspections are being carried out – yes, they are, but we expect greater transparency. Of course, with the amendment to the Consumer Protection Act, we will propose a list of dishonest producers so that Bulgarians can make informed decisions when buying Bulgarian products,” he said.
Imports and counterfeit honey remain the main problems in the sector.
“However, the issue also lies in the integrity of some Bulgarian producers, who are sometimes forced to mix Bulgarian honey with imported honey due to shortages, climate change, and what is often discussed at roundtables at the Ministry and elsewhere – that pesticides used to treat agricultural land directly affect honey yields, because bees decline or die. With early frosts, which we have witnessed this year and last year, there is also inevitably an impact. And of course, if you are dedicated to beekeeping and want to enter the market, the season is not always favourable, and compromises are sometimes made. But these should not be at the expense of the Bulgarian consumer, who has long stopped paying the lowest price. We can see that honey, like many other products, is now expensive, but that should also mean high quality,” he said.
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