Erratic weather could have a significant impact on this season’s honey harvest in Austria, an experienced beekeeper has warned.
Wolfgang Pointecker heads the Association of Professional Apiarists in Austria.
The beekeeper from Wippenham, Upper Austria, said: “This year, there’s hardly any blossom honey. Most beekeepers have cancelled their first extracting session of the season.”
Christian explained that the pollinators were barely able to leave their hives to collect nectar from fruit trees, rapeseeds and dandelions this spring due to the cold and rainy conditions. He added that the situation had not been much better in May.
April 2023 was one of the 10 coldest and wettest on record, according to meteorologists at GeoSphere Austria.
Domesticated honeybees tend to start their pollinating activities at dry conditions of 12 degrees centigrade and beyond.
There are more than 33,000 beekeepers in Austria, a country of nine million inhabitants. They currently manage around 456,000 hives.
Most of the apiarists based in Austria are hobbyists. They harvest around 4,000 tonnes of honey a year, which is not enough to satisfy domestic demand for the product which is said to be beneficial to human health.
