Subject: Position Paper of Biene Österreich on the EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement
Dear Federal Minister Totschnig,
The planned EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement provides for a substantial expansion of honey imports into the European Union. It foresees a duty-free import quota of approximately 45,000 tonnes of honey, to be introduced gradually over a period of five years. This quota applies to honey originating from Mercosur countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Already today, around 24,000 tonnes of honey imported into the EU originate from Mercosur countries. The quota envisaged in the agreement would significantly increase this volume (source: literatur.thuenen.de).
At the same time, a new trade agreement with Ukraine will result, from 2026 onwards, in a 583% increase in duty-free honey imports. The previous limit of 6,000 tonnes has been raised to 35,000 tonnes, despite the fact that Ukraine is known as a hub for counterfeit honey originating from China.
For the domestic beekeeping sector, increased honey imports mean growing competitive pressure, even though the honey market is already characterised by low producer prices and high import volumes (source: German Beekeepers’ Association – Deutscher Imkerbund e. V.).
European beekeepers are not opposed to fair competition – on the contrary, fair competition is explicitly welcomed and is a driving force for progress. The problem is not trade or imports per se. The real problem lies in a dysfunctional global honey market, in which large-scale food fraud is taking place and may be further facilitated by new trade agreements.
Large quantities of honey-like products are entering the market that consist partly or entirely not of honey, but of industrially produced sugar syrups that imitate the composition of honey. These products have been deliberately developed to pass the official testing methods currently in use. The result is market distortion and the destruction of fair price formation for genuine, unadulterated honey. These are not trivial issues for domestic beekeeping, but existentially threatening consequences and deception of consumers.
Independent evidence confirms the scale of the problem:
→ https://cleanupthehoneymarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Press-Release-The-EU-market-is-flooded-with-syrup-based-honey-finally-putting-a-figure-on-foul-play.pdf
Position of European Beekeeping Organisations
The position of the European beekeeping organisations – EBA, EPBA and BeeLife – is clear and unambiguous:
Before honey imports are expanded or tariff exemptions granted, an effective control and enforcement system must be introduced that reliably ensures the authenticity of imported honey. This means that every imported batch of honey must be traceable at least in terms of quantities and origin:
- traceability back to the beekeeping operation
- number of bee colonies of the apiary
- quantity of honey produced and sold
What is required is a practically functioning control system that effectively prevents fraud – not merely formal compliance on paper.
Consumer Protection and Loss of Trust
In addition to the economic impact on beekeeping, the increasing import of non-authentic honeys poses a serious risk to consumer protection. Consumers are systematically misled when products declared as “honey” in reality consist of sugar syrups. This undermines trust in food labelling, control systems and ultimately in the European internal market itself.
Conflict with EU Policies
(Green Deal, Farm-to-Fork, Biodiversity)
The expansion of honey imports without effective control mechanisms also contradicts key EU objectives, in particular the European Green Deal, the Farm-to-Fork Strategy and the Biodiversity Strategy. European beekeeping operations make an indispensable contribution to pollination, biodiversity and the stability of agricultural yields. Weakening them economically runs counter to these political objectives.
Asymmetric Competitive Conditions
(Social, Environmental and Production Standards)
In addition, beekeeping operations in third countries often produce under significantly lower environmental, social and control requirements than European businesses. While European beekeepers must comply with strict requirements regarding animal health, residue limits, documentation and food safety, products from third countries often enter the market without comparable standards. This leads to structurally unfair competitive conditions.
Risk of Irreversible Market Destruction
Once destroyed, a market for high-quality, authentic honey cannot be restored in the short term. If beekeeping operations are forced to cease activity due to permanently distorted prices, expertise, regional structures and pollination services are lost. These damages are long-term and irreversible in many regions.
Demand for an “Import Stop in the Event of System Failure”
If it becomes apparent that the required control and enforcement mechanisms cannot be effectively implemented, import quotas and tariff concessions for honey from third countries must be suspended or limited. Trade liberalisation must not come at the expense of market integrity, consumer protection and European primary production.
Lack of Compensation Mechanisms for Beekeeping
In other areas of European agriculture, the impacts of international trade agreements are at least partially mitigated through compensation payments, market support instruments or crisis mechanisms. Comparable instruments for beekeeping, however, either do not exist or exist only to a completely inadequate extent.
While European beekeepers are exposed to the same market openings and price distortions as other agricultural producers, they lack effective financial or structural safeguards. Beekeeping is thus effectively left to full market liberalisation without the political protection mechanisms that are considered standard in other agricultural sectors.
This unequal treatment is not objectively justified, especially since beekeeping, in addition to honey production, provides significant public services – particularly in the areas of pollination and biodiversity – which have so far not been adequately remunerated.
European Beekeepers Need a Fair Honey Market
A fair honey market is only possible if the same rules apply to all market participants and fraud is consistently excluded. This is the prerequisite for the economic future of European beekeeping, for the protection of consumers and for the credibility of European environmental and sustainability policies.
Yours sincerely
