Although Ukraine is among the top 5 world leaders in honey production and export, for a long time, the state has not been aware of how many bee farms and bee colonies are registered as well as who produces honey in the country.
Everything has changed with the adoption of the Order of the Ministry of Economy “On some issues in beekeeping” that, in particular, introduces an electronic register of bee farm certificates.
Before the adoption of this document, 851 bee farm certificates, and 42,054 bee colonies were registered in the Register of Veterinary-Sanitary Certificates of Bee Farms. As of today, there are almost 43,500 bee farm certificates and 2,236,144 bee colonies in the Register. That is, the number of registered bee farms and bee colonies has increased more than 50 times!
How was it before?
Back in 2018, BRDO experts analyzed the honey market in Ukraine. According to our estimates, only 2% of honey was produced by registered business entities, and the other 98% was produced by households. That raised a problem in counting the number of producers, the amount of honey produced, and the sources of its origin. There were also risks in international trade.
Additionally, business entities can not confirm the presence of their bee farms and the number of bees in case of poisoning and be recompensed for losses. This made them legally unprotected. Beekeepers also could not receive state support in carrying out business activities because they were not registered.
How will it be now?
Today, every business entity can register a bee farm free of charge by submitting the necessary documents in writing or electronically to the local office of the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection at the bee farm owner’s place of residence or the bee farm location. Information about the business entity is automatically entered into the electronic register of bee farm certificates.
In such a way, the Order of the Ministry of Economy developed with the participation of BRDO experts provided opportunities for unshadowing of Ukrainian honey production. From now on, anyone can quickly and easily register a bee farm, receive state support and protect their interests in the event of bee poisoning by plant protection agents.
Finally, the state and international partners now have complete information on the number of beekeepers, bee colonies, and sources of honey. This also makes a positive impact on international trade.