Bees are in danger; what is happening in EU countries?

Thursday, Jul 3, 2025

Il Sole 24 Ore

Market issues and climate change threaten beekeeping; Czech apiaries face decline due to disease and poor conditions.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Market concerns highlight that some countries allow the use of sugar, leading to cheaper imported honey that negatively affects local product positioning. Climate change is also a concern, as extreme temperature fluctuations confuse and can kill bees. In the Czech Republic, beekeeping has faced significant problems; after a slight increase in 2021-2022, both the number of beekeepers and colonies sharply declined in 2023 due to widespread mortality. Major causes include serious diseases like varroosis and bacterial infections. This decline worsened in the winter of 2024/2025, with over a quarter of hives failing to survive the cold. Contributing factors include an unusually wet winter followed by a warm spring that aided mite spread, and an abnormal production of dense honeydew honey in July 2023, which hindered varroosis control. Economically, the sector is struggling; while average honey yield slightly increased in 2022, exports in 2023 were modest (757 tons), contrasting sharply with imports reaching 3,857 tons, primarily from Ukraine and Slovakia.

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