The campaign to encourage honey consumption has been launched

At the Budapest press conference announcing the campaign on Tuesday, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture (AM) responsible for agriculture and rural development said that about 10,000 tons of high-quality domestic honey are consumed in Hungary.

Zsolt Feldman recalled: the honey produced in Europe is sufficient for about 60 percent of European consumption, previously this shortage gave Hungarian honey production a good tailwind. At the same time, in recent years, cheap honey and fake honey from outside the European Union have increased, causing significant damage to the Hungarian beekeeping industry that produces quality honey.

– he highlighted.

According to the Secretary of State, it is particularly important to increase the consumption of Hungarian honey, which is also supported by the campaign that is starting now.

He drew attention to the fact that a lot depends on the consumers, on the fact that they buy honey directly from producers, and that they choose honey from 100 percent domestic production in grocery stores.

Consumers can do the most for their own health on the one hand, and for Hungarian beekeeping and its future on the other – he said.

Zsolt Feldman emphasized that the government takes steps with its own resources. He recalled, among other things, that it took years, but they managed to make the labeling of honey mixtures from different countries clear in the European Union.

Péter Ondré, managing director of the Agrármarketing Centrum, said: they have been organizing campaigns to encourage honey consumption since 2018. He indicated that of the 10,000 tons of domestic consumption, about 6,000 are consumed through direct sales to producers. In the November-December period, the benefits of linden honey are promoted, which can be purchased directly from the producers, not in commercial chains.

During the campaign, the Agricultural Marketing Center would like to draw attention to the fact that producer honeys have different flavors and effects on health, so it is worth getting to know the more special varieties as well – pointed out the manager.