AM: we fight for fair conditions of competition for Hungarian beekeepers at EU level

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Zsolt Feldman explained: two-thirds of the domestic honey production of 15-30 thousand tons is exported to Western Europe, so it is very important to have fair competition conditions in the EU market. Hungarian beekeepers who export 10,000 to 20,000 tons of honey a year compete with 160,000 to 190,000 tons of non-European imports from third countries. He continued: extremely cheap counterfeit Asian products and Ukrainian honey are crowding out Hungarian honey from the export markets, thus reducing domestic sales prices as well. The weakening of the European economy is felt in EU honey consumption, the demand for honey mixtures of lower quality and cheaper prices has increased, which does not favor Hungarian honey. The most important task is therefore to continue the work that forces European decision-makers to protect European honey production and European honey consumers by creating specific EU rules. An important element of this work is that the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association, together with 14 organizations from 11 EU member states, filed an anti-dumping complaint against honey coming from China to the European Union, he added. The Secretary of State also spoke about the fact that the European Union grants the Ukrainian economy access to the EU market with a so-called autonomous trade measure, but the European Commission introduced an emergency braking mechanism for several particularly sensitive agricultural products, including honey, in response to the decisive action of the European agricultural sector. As soon as the import of this exceeds 44.4 thousand tons, customs duties will automatically have to be paid on Ukrainian imports during the summer, the announcement reads.

In relation to keeping the interests of consumers in mind, the State Secretary highlighted that the EU honey labeling rules are being changed at the initiative of Hungary

From 2026 at the latest, everywhere in the Union, the country of origin must be indicated on the packaging of honey mixtures, along with the percentages. According to his information, due to the market difficulties of beekeepers, the role of the sectoral support programs launched in recent years has increased in value. Between 2023 and 2027, together with the Hungarian budget resources, the sector will receive about HUF 15.6 billion in targeted sector support. For the first time in the EU, Hungary introduced animal welfare support for beekeepers, an amount equivalent to 15 euros per bee colony per year, thus helping to maintain healthy bee populations and the bee industry. In addition, domestic beekeepers have been receiving a so-called bee health subsidy for 5 years, which beekeepers claim every year after 1 million bee colonies, amounting to HUF 1,000 per bee colony. The most important market reserve in the current situation is the Hungarian consumers, the further increase in annual consumption, which has doubled in recent years and increased to 1 kilogram per person, the “becoming of honey as an everyday food item”, the increase in the number of people following a health-conscious diet, the purchase of honey from local producers plays a major role in this can play – announced the Ministry of Agriculture.

MTI