How climate change and Hellenization “dealt a blow” to Greek honey

This year is expected to be difficult for Greek beekeeping as the industry has been hit hard by climate change.

Beekeepers will have to face a number of problems. In addition to climate change, the phenomenon of “Hellenization” of foreign honey coming into our country from countries such as China and Ukraine, which is available for sale at a much lower price than Greek honey, has led many beekeepers to demand that the state deal with the pressing issue.

“The market is “flooded” with cheap imported honey. And so Greek became worthless“, said the President of the Federation of Beekeepers' Associations of Greece (OMSE) Kostas Leontarakis.

Also causes problems import of Ukrainian honey, which, as he noted, enters the European market without duties. “Greek honey, although of high quality, usually ranks second. There are legislative gaps. There are control mechanisms, but they need to be activated, and not “throwing” fines anywhere“, he added.

However, the phenomenon illegal honey standardization This is not unique to Greece. There are similar problems in other EU countries. In search of a solution, the European Commission began to create new platform for honey. In it, experts from across the union will be able to provide opinions on the authenticity and traceability of the product in order to combat counterfeiting.

In recent years climate change is becoming increasingly evident in many areas of the country. Those employed in the primary sector have experienced its consequences. This is evidenced by the devastating fires of last summer and the floods that hit Thessaly. “We can't deal with climate change. A living organism, such as a bee, cannot itself adapt to large and sudden changes in climate and temperature“, noted the President of the Federation.

According to Mr Leontarakis, high temperatures, in addition to the above problems, cause bees to “starve”. This leads to loss of bees and low honey yield. “We are starting to see these disasters across the country. We want the state to listen to us and support us“, – he said.

“Last year's devastating fires and floods caused beekeepers' incomes to plummet by almost 60%. Given the existing drought, we estimate that revenues could fall by up to 80%“, he emphasized. Finally, according to Mr. Leontarakis, it is expected that this year thyme honey will disappear from the marketwhile a corresponding risk also exists for pine honey.

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