Beekeepers are impatient: “It is not possible for the second largest producer in Europe to consume 60% of imported honey”
Dozens of beekeepers from Olt county protested on Thursday, March 19, 2026, drawing attention to the problems that overwhelm them. They are the only non-subsidized sector, they have new taxes and it all comes after a very bad year.
About 30 beekeepers from Olt County have publicly voiced their displeasure. There are people from all over the county, they have different professions, but they are united by their passion for raising bees, because their occupation is much more than an occupation or an attempt to obtain additional income. I say that it represents the only sector in agriculture that does not benefit from subsidies, being supported only with the settlement of certain expenses that they must initially make from their own funds. From this year they also have to pay taxes for the beekeeping trucks that they use only for the transport of bee families, the new tax, from which they were exempt until now, representing an expense of approximately 1,300 – 1,400 lei/year.
Beekeepers say they do not benefit from any kind of support PHOTO: A. Mitran
Beekeeping, say beekeepers, represents a strategic sector only on paper, although the pollination of agricultural crops and the maintenance of biodiversity depend on their activity. The last few years have been harsh, with climate change affecting them enormously, as it has in all sectors of agriculture. It's just that they don't receive subsidies or de minimis aid. They are struggling to combat the intensive use of pesticides, their production costs have also increased enormously, instead they sell their honey – of a quality recognized and appreciated for export – at prices of nothing to buyers. On top of that, he notes with bitterness that imported products are making their way on the market, which are sometimes not even honey, not poor quality honey. “It is not possible that the second largest producer of honey in Europe consumes 60% of imported honey”, attracts the attention of Cosmin Mandică, member of the management committee of the Olt Beekeepers Association, which has over 220 active members.
“We are also asking for a direct subsidy of 50 euros per family of bees”
The beekeepers organized a peaceful protest in Slatina, in front of Olt Prefecture. At first, they let only the printed messages speak, drawing attention to the fact that there is no future without bees. They drew up a memorandum, which they submitted to the prefect of Olt county to pass it on to the governors, that is, to those people, politicians, who in election years comfort the elders and make them promises.
“There are four legislative initiatives in parliament”say the beekeepers. However, the agricultural sector remained widowed of all rights.
In the submitted memorandum they included ten claims.
Because they are also strongly affected by climate change, they demand the establishment of de minimis aid for calamity situations, drawing attention to the fact that they fully bear the losses, although in other EU states beekeepers benefit from this support mechanism.
I also request the exemption of the trucks with which they transport their bee families from taxation and the increase of the interval at which they carry out the periodic technical inspection to 3 years (now this obligation rests with them annually).
Although 11% VAT is payable on farm and pet food products, beekeepers feed their bees, in difficult years when they need to supplement, with products for which VAT is at the maximum rate, therefore they also charge 11% VAT.
Another big pain for beekeepers is the unwrapping of honey. Massive imports of honey from outside the EU, often at dumping prices, have led to the situation where they are forced to sell at extremely low prices, which sometimes do not even cover their production costs. Thus, I request that the state impose: clear and complete labeling of the origin of honey; supporting direct sales by beekeepers; intensifying import controls, sampling and analysis for each batch of imported honey; applying firm sanctions for non-compliant products.
They want programs aimed at the sector
Not only are they not subsidized directly, but their access to funding from EU funds is limited by the conditions imposed by the funding guidelines. A beekeeper with 80 families of bees will never be able to reach the score of a vegetable grower with an area of 1,000 square meters of solar, draw the attention of the beekeepers, considering themselves discriminated. I am saying that a program aimed at the sector would be much more appropriate.
“A possibility of increasing the chances of accessing European funds is the introduction of an additional evaluation criterion within the projects with European funding, by awarding additional points to beekeepers who carry out educational activities in educational institutions”the beekeepers also claim in the submitted memorandum, requesting that those who are involved in such activities be given additional points when accessing projects.
Beekeepers demand a certified laboratory for honey testing
Because the counterfeit honey that enters the Romanian market, brought at uncompetitive prices, ruins them, but also because it is also a way to deceive consumers, the beekeepers demand the establishment of a reference laboratory for honey, equipped with modern equipment and accredited according to European standards. Its lack today limits Romania's ability to control honey quality and combat fraud. “It is necessary to establish a modern laboratory, equipped with high-performance equipment, with national and international recognition, capable of performing all the analyzes necessary for the certification of honey. We also request that this laboratory work under the coordination of a competent public institution and be integrated into the relevant European networks”. beekeepers ask.
It would also help them a lot to review the conditions for access to support within the National Strategic Program, but also to reintroduce beekeeping in the animal husbandry law, with beekeepers drawing attention to the fact that at this moment they are “up in the air”.
“And the bee wants to fly and be healthy”
The president of the Olt Beekeepers Association, Mircea Costinel Pană, drew attention to the fact that “and the bee wants to fly and be healthy”. “The bee wants to live. He needs help and financial support. The last three, four years, because of the temperatures, were the disastrous years”, Pană said, arguing that a subsidy of 50 euros/family of bees would mean a lot to breeders.
Beekeepers say they do not benefit from any kind of support PHOTO: A. Mitran
“Honey is very difficult to sell on the market. It doesn't sell. People think honey is expensive, it's better to buy a kilogram of meat. It sells very poorly – 15-20 lei/kg, if they sell it to the processor, they get it for 8.5 lei/kg”, said Ion Chiriță, beekeeper from Găneasa. A satisfactory price should be above 50 lei/kg, so that the expenses are covered and the breeders have some profit.
Most beekeepers raise bees out of pure passion. Many have been doing this since childhood. This is the case of a couple who came from Redea, near Caracal, for the event through which the beekeepers aimed to draw attention to the danger in which the sector is. “We have 72 families and we are dealing with them very hard. Because of the climate changes, neither the rapeseed nor the sunflowers were grown, they harvested very, very little. And the price is what it is. It is very difficult to sell. In the winter, 10-15 families died. The winter was different from the other winters. We sell very hard. By the jar, we know. And we leave a lot of it to the bees“, the lady explained.
Beekeepers say they do not benefit from any kind of support PHOTO: A. Mitran
Another family, from Potcoava, speaks of a 90% loss of bee families in the past year. But I go on, no matter how much work it is. “We never count work. It's passion”the beekeepers explain.
The beekeepers have no explanation for the fact that, although they have been doing badly for many years, they have never called out their problems. Maybe because there is passion in the middle, they all say. “We didn't depend on this money, we have jobs, we do this as a hobby. But now taxes have also been imposed, everything will bring us down”draw the attention of beekeepers.
