In the fairy tale of writer Félix María Samaniego, the line about two thousand flies flocking to rich honey serves as a reminder that sweetness can come at a price. Spain now faces a crisis in beekeeping, one of the darkest moments in its history for the sector. Beekeepers are mobilizing as thousands of hives struggle to survive. Some are even washing hives with honey in front of government buildings as a symbolic protest against high operating costs and an overreliance on imports from China, which has devalued local production and pushed many beekeepers to the edge.
Pablo Sáez, a beekeeper, states that the industry remains “in ruins” and that management has offered little relief. He warns that the ecosystem is at risk due to high environmental pollution. He notes that many beekeepers have lost significant numbers of hives, citing the Bejís fire last summer where Javier Molins burned between 150 and 200 hives and faced an economic loss around 40,000 euros without any support from authorities.
Industry-wide data paints a troubling picture. Honey harvests fell by about 50% across Spain in 2022 as beekeepers redirected energy toward maintaining and improving hives rather than producing honey. Pedro Loscertales, head of beekeeping for COAG, describes recent years as a period of deterioration. Since 2018 Spain has seen a steady decline in honey production. Mercasa, the public company that manages wholesale markets, reports that national production dropped from 36,394 tons in 2018 to 28,000 tons in 2022, a level well below the five-year average.
Beekeeping associations AVA-Asaja, Asaja Alicante, APAC, Unió Llauradora, UPA-PV, CCPV-COAG and ApiAds attribute the decline to drought, rising varroa mite infestations, and other stressors that weaken hives. This ongoing decline has forced beekeepers to spend more on hive improvement rather than honey production. The rise in fuel and input costs compounds the challenge facing the sector.
Packaging and distribution data show Spain importing a total of 35,260 tons of honey, up from 3,009 tons more than in 2017, and a notable increase compared with 2021. This trend underscores the difficulty domestic producers face in matching imported prices and volumes.
Chinese competition
Much of Spain’s honey is sourced from China, which supplies roughly 90% of imports for the Spanish agri-food sector. The price gap is stark: a kilogram of Chinese honey costs Spanish beekeepers about 3.7 euros at source in 2022, while buyers often pay less than 1.5 euros for the same product—making it hard for local producers to compete on price.
Packers and distributors have increasingly switched to honey from other origins such as Uruguay, Turkey, and Ukraine. As Loscertales explains, a significant portion of Spanish honey remains unsold, yet imports continue to undercut local production with prices well below current production costs, affecting the viability of many beekeepers.
Despite these pressures, employment in beekeeping persists, though the outlook remains uncertain. In Spain, there were 35,300 beekeepers reported by REGA in March 2021, up 4.3% from the previous year; about 18% of these keep more than 150 hives and are considered professional beekeepers.
Seeking assistance
Professional beekeepers argue they cannot survive without support. Valencian beekeeping organizations have urged access to agri-environmental funds to prevent beekeepers from abandoning their regions for better reception elsewhere. Pascual del Valle, head of beekeeping for AVA-Asaja, states that Valencian beekeepers have faced years of adverse campaigns, disease pressures, and insufficient government backing. He notes that other autonomous communities offer substantial assistance while the Generalitat has provided only symbolic support.
There is a call for an emergency plan with strong, rapid measures to ensure the viability of beekeepers and to secure reciprocity with honey from third countries. Proposals include a labeling scheme that clearly differentiates locally produced honey and a concerted effort to stabilize prices and market access for domestic producers.
Costs continue to rise as beekeeping moves into transhumance, with hives relocated to areas offering nectar and pollen. This practice increases fuel use and transportation costs. Critics also point to delays in a regional viability plan for beekeeping, urging swift action on issues such as Pinyolà, a phenomenon linked to insect-driven seed abundance in fruit crops. Since 1993, Valencian law has restricted hive placement within 5 kilometers of citrus crops during April and May.
Beyond the Valencian Community, the overall survival of bees across Europe remains under threat. The European Commission has introduced restrictions on the use of certain pesticides to protect pollinators, setting stringent limits intended to safeguard bee populations. If pollination declines, agriculture and biodiversity suffer—an estimated 37% of European bees are at risk of decline. Bees play a pivotal role in the production of a large share of the continent’s food—roughly 75% of crops rely on pollination by bees—and their decline would reverberate through ecosystems and economies alike. This is why policy, practice, and public investment in beekeeping matter so much to farmers and communities across Spain and Europe (Editorial notes and official statistics cited from national and regional agricultural agencies and EU regulatory bodies).