Vietnamese Apiculture Hurt by EU Import Ban

The Decline of Apiculture
VietNamNet, 5/28/2008

The fall of honey output and the European Union’s temporary ban on Vietnamese honey have disrupted Vietnamese apiculture.

“Regulation” bans beekeeping

Dinh Quyet Tam, Secretary General of the Vietnam Beekeeping Association, said Vietnam’s honey output has decreased because of unfavourable weather and the ban on beekeeping in some provinces…

European honey importers are asking Vietnamese honey to contain no more than 18.5% water while Vietnam’s standard is 22.5%. They have also requested that honey processors apply HACCP standards, which take time and money.

Bui Phuong Hoa, Deputy Director of the Central Veterinary Hygiene Centre, said the centre has a honey quality testing system and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assigned the Veterinary Agency to collect bee samples from beekeeping farms for analysis. The Veterinary Agency initially registered to check for 20 quality standards, which has increased to 34 at present at the request of honey-importing countries. The EU recently sent experts to Vietnam to supervise honey quality…