Cheap Chinese and Ukrainian Honey Squeezes Romania as Output Falls
Romania’s 2026 honey production is estimated at 10,000-15,000 tonnes, less than half the output of a normal year. Producers are holding unsold stocks after losing export markets to cheaper Chinese and Ukrainian honey.
Production remains below half of a normal year
Romania is expected to produce between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes of honey in 2026, less than half the volume of a normal year with a normal number of bee colonies, according to Răzvan Coman, president of the Romanian Beekeepers’ Association, or ACA. The contraction follows a sharp decline in the national bee population during spring 2025, when the number of colonies was effectively halved compared with 2024.
For individual beekeepers who maintained healthy colonies through winter, however, favorable natural conditions made 2026 a productive season. Romanian apiaries harvested acacia honey, which was absent in 2025, as well as some rapeseed and linden honey. Sunflower honey was produced across much of the country, but weak demand has left producers with limited opportunities to sell it.
Export markets have closed since 2022
Coman told Economica.net that Romania has effectively stopped exporting honey since 2022 because prices on European and global markets are being shaped by lower-cost supply from China and Ukraine. More than half of Romanian production was exported three or four years ago. Ukrainian sellers have cut prices further during the past six months as Eastern European suppliers try to regain customers in Western Europe, he said.
Western buyers seeking margins continue to source from Ukraine, leaving honey from Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria stored in barrels at beekeepers’ premises. Romanian producers face costs of approximately 10-11 lei per kilogram, while the available selling price for some honey is only 9-10 lei per kilogram. Coman said producers cannot continue selling at a loss after doing so in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The domestic market has not absorbed the surplus. Romania produces more honey than it consumes but continues to import blends from outside the European Union for sale through hypermarkets. Coman argued that direct purchases from beekeepers could shorten the supply chain, reduce consumer prices and move more domestic stocks. The ACA has promoted this approach for three to four years.
Standards add another obstacle for acacia honey
This season’s acacia honey also faces a classification problem. Romanian standards require more than 30% acacia pollen for first-quality certification, more than 25% for second quality and more than 20% for the remaining certified category. Samples tested in 2026 generally contained only 12%-18%, although 22% was found rarely and one sample reached 26%.
Coman said there was no organoleptic doubt that the honey originated from acacia nectar, but the pollen results prevent certification under standards developed 30-40 years ago. Changing climatic and flowering conditions may therefore reduce the commercial value of a crop that returned after a year without acacia honey.
The industry is also seeking policy support. Five legislative proposals concerning beekeeping have reached Romania’s Parliament since the previous summer. A proposed payment of €15 could not be applied after review at European Union level, while other initiatives address reduced VAT on bee feed and the restoration of a tax exemption for vehicles used specifically in beekeeping.
The pressure has pushed the ACA to prioritize domestic consumption. At the National Honey Fair, held on 11-13 September 2026 with 94 exhibitors, Coman said the sector needed to direct at least 50% of its effort toward increasing Romanian honey consumption and strengthening direct links between producers and consumers.
