site.btaAlmost All Bulgarian Honey Goes for Export

Almost All Bulgarian Honey Goes for Export

Bourgas, on the Black Sea, August 4 (BTA) - Bee keeping in Bulgaria is very much export-oriented, more so than any other agricultural sector, Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Dessislava Taneva said Thursday in the coastal town of Tsarevo. Of a total of 11,400 t of honey produced in this country last year, 9,400 t was exported.

Taneva was in Tsarevo for the 13th edition of the Festival of Honeydew Honey.

She said that a procedure for gaining a European protected appellation of origin for the Strandja honeydew honey has come to the final stretch and the Bulgarian honeydew honey is expected to soon be entered in the European register.

Strandja is a region in southeastern Bulgaria where Tsarevo belongs and which is known for its pristine nature and the honeydew honey that is produced by local beekeepers.

Taneva said that it is important that farmers process the honey they produce and offer on the market a finished product so as to maximize their gains.

The Minister promised financial support for beekeepers in Strandja.

The subsidies for the beekeeping sector this year stand at 4.3 million leva.

The European Commission has allowed Bulgaria to subsidize enviroment-friendly projects for honey production under the Rural Development Programme. It will make subsidies of 15.37 euro per bee family in mobile bee keeping available as of next year for farmers who will place mobile bee hives in areas that are part of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas.