Ukraine ranks first in Europe for honey production – FAO

The press service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) told this to Ukrinform.

"Every year Ukraine sets a new record for the export of sweet product, having increased exports by 20.5 times over 10 years! In 2017, export volumes reached 67.8 thousand tonnes with a total value of $133.9 million. Ukraine's production makes up 4-5% of the world's production, and it is third in terms of honey exports. Ukraine also ranks first in Europe in terms of honey production," said Anna Burka, a national advisor at the FАО.

She also noted that the structure of exports since 2008 has changed mainly due to a decrease in the share of exports to the CIS. However, the main importer of Ukrainian honey remained unchanged - last year Ukraine exported 71% of honey to the EU.

"Ukrainian honey was exported by 19 European Union countries in 2013, while in 2017 - by 24. The largest importers last year were Germany with a share of 34%, Poland (22%), France (11%), Belgium (8%) and Spain (7%)," Anna Burka stressed.

In general, according to the FAO expert, exports of Ukrainian honey to the EU countries are six times higher than the quotas provided.

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