site.btaBulgaria With 5th Most Beehives on Farms in EU in 2020 - Eurostat

Bulgaria ranked among the five European Union member states with most beehives on farms in 2020 with around 0.9 million – Spain had a little bit over that number, Italy and Greece had 1 mln each, while Romania had more than any other EU country with 1.5 mln, shows Eurostat data, published Friday on the occasion of World Bee Day (20 May).

On a regional level, Bulgaria had the most hives in the North Central region (210,980), followed by the Northeast region (192,930), the Southeast region (181,260), the Northwest region (147,570), the South Central region (94,820) and the Southwest region (45,210).

There were 8.1 million beehives on EU farms. This is no more than a partial picture of all the beehives in the EU, because the Agricultural Census only records beehives on farms (in some countries, like Germany, beehives are not considered a part of farms).

On 5 April 2023, the Commission responded to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) ‘Save bees and farmers!’ by stating that the priority is to ensure that the proposals currently being negotiated on the sustainable use of pesticides and the restoration of nature are adopted and then implemented in a timely manner. It acknowledged the importance of pollinators in agriculture as a crucial means of ensuring the EU’s food security and in fighting biodiversity losses.