German MPs have been accused of “not having the faintest idea” what the country’s professional beekeepers are worried about.
The Bundestag, which is Germany’s federal parliament, unanimously rejected a bill proposed by Die Linke. The left-wing opposition party’s draft suggested compensating each apiarist with an annual ‘pollination bonus’ of EUR 60 (GBP 52) per colony.
Die Linke failed to find support neither among the three-party government nor among other opposition factions.
Janine Fritsch from the German Union of Professional Beekeepers vehemently criticised lawmakers for their decision.
The biologist claimed: “It has become evident that the factions do not have the faintest idea of the problems German apiarists are confronted with. Those affected have not been consulted.”
Janine criticised that apiarists would not receive the same amount of subsidies as farmers despite beekeeping being considered an agricultural activity.
Referring to intensified competition from low-cost imports, the Beekeepers Union representative warned: “No one can make a living any more from selling honey.”
Janine claimed that foreign competitors would strongly benefit from recent duty-free agreements between European Union decision-makers and several third countries.
Germany is one of the leading producers of honey in Europe. Around 149,000 leisure-time apiarists are forming the Federal Beekeepers Association. The country’s Union of Professional Beekeepers has only 4,500 members.
Germany’s average per-capita consumption of honey rose by 15 per cent to 935 grammes from 2021 to 2022. Around 34,000 tonnes of the product were reportedly produced in the Central European country in 2022.
