STATUS AND TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEEKEEPING SECTOR IN BULGARIA

Abstract

The present study is aimed at the state and trends in the development of beekeeping in Bulgaria.
There are not many studies devoted to the problems in the sector, but their importance for the development
of beekeeping in Bulgaria is great, therefore clarifying them will improve the development
of the sector. The need for the research stems from the fact that, despite the great opportunity for the
development of beekeeping available to the country in recent years, the sector is not only not developing,
but is facing a catastrophe. The main hypothesis is that beekeeping in Bulgaria, despite the
good natural conditions for development, is too far from its potential. This stagnation of the sector
has a certain reason. This is where the main goal of the study comes from. To identify the main
reason or factor stopping the development of beekeeping in Bulgaria.
or this purpose, the main indicators of the state of beekeeping were analyzed. The main channels
for the sale of bee honey and the quantities of production realized through them have been tracked.
The largest buyers and sellers in the country have been identified and a comparison of the prices
offered by them has been made. The e ternal factors affecting the price and demand for Bulgarian
honey have been analyzed. As a result, the reasons and circumstances leading to the negative trends
in the sector have been established.
rom the conducted research, we have reason to claim that the most significant factor affecting the
development of beekeeping is the profitability of a bee colony. As the low profitability, in this case,
stems from the adoption of bad legislative policies by the State and the EU, to the detriment of
beekeeping. Which have led to price and quality dumping. As a result, local production is forced to
sell at unrealistically low prices and the sector finds itself in great difficulty and on the verge of
bankruptcy. Interventions are proposed that would help transform the sector into an attractive and
profitable business. But a decisive role for the development of beekeeping remains in the hands of
the state and European administration and their legal and financial policies aimed at the sector.