According to IDIS Viitorul expert Veaceslav Ionitsa, the main reason is the strong spring frosts, which affected the honey flora, reducing the area of flowering plants. The income was also affected by price fluctuations, the growth of expenses, as well as the reduction of domestic consumption. Thus, if in 2023, one inhabitant of Moldova consumed about 0.7 kg of honey per year, in 2025 – already 0.4 kg.
In 2025, beekeepers had to sell 2.5 times more honey to reach the level of income in 2010. Nevertheless, the real revenue per 1 kg of honey is only 40% of what it was 15 years ago.
The losses were partially compensated by the growth of export prices and the sale of last year’s stocks. Thus, honey exports in 2025 amounted to 4.5 thousand tons – worth $13.8 million, which is about $10 million more than in 2024.
The main exports are to the European Union. The top three are Italy (almost a third of all volumes), Romania and Slovakia, which buy about 60% of export supplies. Moldovan honey is also supplied to France, Norway and Germany.
Last season, the average export price varied between $2.5 and $3.3 per kg. Nevertheless, it still has not reached the figures of 2022, when the price of honey reached $3.8 per 1 kg.
The expert also noted a certain paradox: the number of bee families in Moldova is constantly growing. Now they are about 212 thousand – 88 thousand more than ten years ago. The majority of bee families are owned by private households.
