Italy: Honey, production recovers but does not meet demand

Published Oct 23, 2024

Tridge summary

Italy ranks 6th in Europe with over 22,000 agricultural companies and 1.6 million hives, with 80% managed by professional beekeepers, according to the Crea Report. The honey production in 2022 reached approximately 23,000 tons, but it is still insufficient to meet the demand, leading to imports of approximately 26,500 tons. The sector has seen growth but faces challenges such as increasing production costs and competition from low-quality foreign honeys. The National Quality System is emphasized as a factor of quality and distinctiveness for Italian products. For the 2023-2027 programming period, the sector has been allocated 83.8 million euros in support.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Sector data in the Report prepared by Crea With over 22 thousand agricultural companies and 1.6 million hives, Italy is in 6th place in Europe for the number of hives, of which approximately 80% are managed by professional beekeepers, a trend that is constantly growing, if we compare the data from the last two Istat censuses (in 2020 there was a 57% increase in hives at national level, compared to 2010). These are the first data presented in the Crea Report "Bees and Honey: opportunities: potential and threats for an essential supply chain", which also highlights that since 2016 the sector has been able to count on more precise and systematic surveys thanks to the establishment of the Beekeeping Database (Bda). Honey, domestic production grows The national production of honey, which in 2022 reached approximately 23,000 tons - a strong recovery compared to 2021, when production stopped at 12,450 tons (data from the National Honey Observatory), remains insufficient compared to ...

Source: Terraevita