Unió Llauradora e Ramadera warned that the combination of prolonged drought and intense…

Unió Llauradora e Ramadera warned that the combination of prolonged drought and intense pressure from the bee-eater bird will cause a drop of over 40% in honey production in the Valencian Community, marking a critical year for beekeeping operations. The organization detailed that scarce flowering, higher bee mortality, and increased costs for feeding, management, transportation, and swarm replacement are threatening the viability of many apiaries.

Unió highlights that about 99% of Valencian hives are migratory, which worsens the problem as beekeepers must continuously move their hives seeking flowering plants, incurring rising expenses. Each hive lost currently costs the beekeeper 120 euros. There are 2,440 registered apiaries and 271,557 hives in the Valencian territory.