HONEY PRODUCTION IN LATVIA

Abstract

The geographical position of Latvia is favorable for obtaining high-quality honey. The beekeeping industry is one of the modern agricultural production sectors in Latvia. Honey from various flowers can be obtained in Latvia. The aim of the study is to assess the potential for honey production in Latvia. Research methods: 1) analysis of honey production data, 2) review of various information sources. On average, 1256.811±0.426 tons of honey are obtained in Latvia per year (time period 1923-1937 and 1997-2023). Since 2019, honey exports in Latvia have exceeded imports. The greater the amount of honey produced in Latvia, the greater the amount of honey exported. The amount of honey exports increased, especially in 2021. It is possible that this was also facilitated by the formation of beekeepers' cooperatives. The amount of imports also increased, which could be explained by the decrease in the solvency of the population, i.e., imported honey is much cheaper than local honey. In Latvia (2018), honey was exported at a price 2.1 times higher than imported, but in 2019, the difference between export and import prices was only 1.3 times. There is a trend in Latvia where there are many small beekeepers in the honey extraction sector, for whom it is an additional source of income or a hobby. However, both the number of bee colonies and the amount of honey produced are increasing every year. Latvian beekeepers can produce high-quality products, but honey production can be increased by moving bees to nectar-rich pastures and diversifying production types by developing monofloral honey production.