The number of beekeepers in the most populous region of Germany has almost doubled within the past 10 years, it has emerged.
The western state of North-Rhine Westphalia – which has 18 million inhabitants – currently registers 19,000 professional and amateur apiarists.
Speaking to broadcaster WDR, Dr Marika Harz from the provincial agricultural chamber revealed: “The number of beekeepers in North-Rhine Westphalia is now almost twice as high as it was 10 years ago.”
Dr Harz – who is a lecturer for apiculture at the FH Suedwestfalen, a higher education centre in Iserlohn – said the region’s beekeepers were managing seven to eight colonies on average.
She pointed out: “Ensuring the existence of the Apis mellifera honeybee is of great ecological and economic importance.”
Dr Harz explained that Germany’s beekeepers were capable of covering just 20 per cent of domestic demand.
Germany is one of Europe’s leading producers of honey. Only one per cent of the country’s 170,000 beekeepers are full-time professionals.
In 2021, apiarists in Germany managed around 982,000 hives.
Ukraine, Mexico, Argentina and China are Europe’s main trade partners when it comes to the import of honey.
