Portugal was the fifth member state of the European Union (EU) that most imported honey in 2021 from outside the EU, only behind Germany, Poland, Belgium and Spain, reveal data released on the 19 August by Eurostat.

Published on the eve of World Bee Day, which falls on 20 August, data from the official European statistics office reveal that last year, EU member states imported 173,400 tons of natural honey from non-EU countries, worth a total of 405.9 million euros, and only exported 25,500 tons outside the EU, which is worth 146.6 million euros.

Eurostat notes that Germany accounted for 30 percent of total non-EU honey imports in 2021 by importing 51,900 tons, followed by Poland with 32,200 tons (19 percent of EU imports), Belgium with 25,600 (15 percent), Spain with 14,500 (8 percent) and Portugal with 7,100 tons, which represents 4 percent of EU honey imports last year, compared to 6,300 tons in 2020 and 5,400 tons in 2019.

Statistical data shows that Ukraine was the main country of origin of honey imports from third countries last year with 53,800 tons, which represents 31 percent of the honey imported by EU member states, followed by China with 48,000 tons (28 percent), Mexico with 15,500 (9 percent), Argentina with 14,400 (8 percent) and Brazil with 7,900 tons (5 percent).

In terms of honey exports to non-EU countries, Spain was the member state that exported the most in 2021 with 6,900 tons, with Portugal exporting only about 180 tons.