http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0079018
Demographics of the European Apicultural Industry

   - DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079018



Abstract

Over the last few years, many European and North American countries have
reported a high rate of disorders (mortality, dwindling and disappearance)
affecting honeybee colonies (*Apis mellifera*). Although beekeeping has
become an increasingly professional activity in recent years, the
beekeeping industry remains poorly documented in Europe. The European Union
Reference Laboratory for Honeybee Health sent a detailed questionnaire to
each Member State, in addition to Kosovo and Norway, to determine the
demographics and state of their beekeeping industries. Based on data
supplied by the National Reference Laboratory for honeybee diseases in each
European country, a European database was created to describe the
beekeeping industry including the number and types of beekeepers, operation
size, industry production, and health (notifiable diseases, mortalities).
The total number of beekeepers in Europe was estimated at 620 000. European
honey production was evaluated at around 220 000 tons in 2010. The price of
honey varied from 1.5 to 40 €/kg depending on the country and on the
distribution network. The estimated colony winter mortality varied from 7
to 28% depending on the country and the origin of the data (institutional
survey or beekeeping associations). This survey documents the high
heterogeneity of the apicultural industry within the European Union. The
high proportion of non-professional beekeepers and the small mean number of
colonies per beekeeper were the only common characteristics at European
level. The tremendous variation in European apicultural industries has
implication for any comprehensive epidemiological or economic analysis of
the industry. This variability needs to be taken into account for such
analysis as well as for future policy development. The industry would be
served if beekeeping registration was uniformly implemented across member
states. Better information on the package bee and queen production would
help in understanding the ability of the industry to replace lost honey bee
stocks.

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