Serious crisis in Hungarian beekeeping: profitability of the sector at rock bottom

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 01. 20. 11:37

The Kaposvár beekeepers’ meeting painted a gloomy picture of the situation in Hungarian beekeeping. The president of the National Hungarian Beekeeping Association, Péter Bross, reported that inflation had doubled in three years, while the wholesale price of honey had halved, so the sector’s income-generating capacity had reached a historic low. “There has never been a situation like this before, the difficulties are doubly noticeable,” he said in his presentation at the Kaposvár beekeepers’ meeting, InfoStart points out.

The sector’s biggest challenge is sales, emphasized Zsolt Horváth, president of the Kaposvár and Region Beekeepers’ Association. Although acacia honey is a product highlighted as a Hungarian specialty, its high price makes it difficult to sell, as buyers are extremely price-sensitive. According to the summary, producers are often only able to sell honey for half the production price, which is why tons of stocks remain in warehouses.

To address the situation, some beekeepers are turning to direct sales or the production of higher value-added products, but many are still struggling to survive. According to pessimistic forecasts, up to two-thirds of beekeepers could give up their activities due to unfavorable market conditions. This would endanger not only honey production, but also the number of pollinators, which would affect the entire agriculture and food supply.

The Ministry of Agriculture has doubled the amount of sectoral subsidies to support beekeepers. This now means 30 euros per bee colony and per year, or approximately 12,500 forints. Producers can submit their applications from January 27, which will hopefully provide some help in dealing with the difficulties. However, players in the sector have stressed that longer-term solutions are also needed for the sake of sustainability.