Up to 25% of bees died in Ukraine in 2024: beekeeping losses reach 30%
7 January 2025 16:33
Bee mortality in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine in 2024 was 20-25%, which is significantly higher than pre-war figures. This was stated by the director of the National Scientific Center “Institute of Beekeeping” Volodymyr Postoenko, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The high mortality rate, according to the expert, is due to unfavorable weather conditions in spring and summer, which led to a reduction in the area of honey plants.
“The year 2024 was very difficult for beekeepers due to a sharp climate change. In spring, white acacia is very important for the development of bee colonies. During its flowering period, there were frosts all over Ukraine. Bees did not get honey from it. Then there was a problem with an important honey plant – sunflower. Due to the drought, its harvest was low. This led to a high mortality rate of bees. On average in the country, this figure was 20-25%,”
– says Postoenko.
Previously, bee mortality in Ukraine was mainly associated with the lack of information about chemical treatments of fields by farmers. However, the government has introduced a number of legislative initiatives that have significantly improved the situation with informing beekeepers about chemical treatments.
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The Director of the Institute of Beekeeping pointed out that the industry does not have reliable statistics, as only 5% of beekeepers are engaged in industrial production, while the remaining 95% are households. They, in turn, avoid paying taxes and, accordingly, reporting on their activities is approximate.
“Before the war, according to unofficial statistics, there were 3-3.5 million bee colonies in Ukraine. In addition, unofficial statistics say that the apiaries that were in the current occupied territory before the war accounted for about 30% of the total number of apiaries in Ukraine before the war,”
– Mr. Postoenko clarified.
Officially
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, as of January 1, 2022, the number of bee colonies in Ukraine was 2.6 million. Over the two years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, their number has decreased to 2.3 million.
“As a result of the hostilities of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, the livestock sector, in particular the beekeeping industry, has suffered destructive and destructive configurations,”
– the Ministry of Agrarian Policy commented.
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As reported by , this year Ukraine was ranked 4th in the world among the world’s largest honey exporters.
