Who Will Produce Local Honey If We Give Up on It?

When you buy honey, you probably don’t think about tariffs and international trade agreements.

You look at which type you like, where it comes from and how much it costs. That’s only natural.

But changes are happening this year that are worth knowing about. Because there’s a much bigger story behind the price on the shelf. And how it plays out matters to both the people producing honey and those of us buying it.

What’s happening in 2026?

The EU–Mercosur trade agreement has applied provisionally since 1 May 2026. For honey, it provides a duty-free quota that will be introduced gradually over five years, reaching 45,000 tonnes a year.

Mercosur includes major honey-producing countries such as Argentina and Brazil.

That doesn’t mean all 45,000 tonnes have already arrived, or that this amount represents additional imports. But it does mean more favourable access to the European market for honey imported within that quota. Source: European Commission.

The changes have already begun. On 7 May, Argentina’s food safety authority, SENASA, announced that it had certified the first shipment of 22 tonnes of honey under the new agreement, exempt from the previous 17.3% tariff. Source: SENASA.

For the exporter, that’s good business news.

But what does it mean for a beekeeper here in Croatia, who also needs to sell their honey and cover their costs?

A beekeeper can’t order a better season

You can invest in equipment, prepare your colonies and do everything that needs doing.

But you can’t order sunshine when it’s raining. You can’t move a frost so it misses the blossom. And you can’t promise your bees that the next flowering season will be better.

The costs and the care don’t disappear when a season goes badly.

That’s why it bothers me when the conversation about honey comes down to one question: “Can it be any cheaper?”

Of course price matters. We all watch what we spend. But behind a jar of local honey is work you can’t see on a shelf. If that work isn’t valued, how long can people keep going?

Imports and fraud are two different things

I want to be clear: honey from another country can be high quality. And being local doesn’t automatically prove quality either.

Europe relies on imports to meet part of its demand. It would be unfair to call all imported honey poor quality.

But we should also speak openly about the pressure on producers and ask for reliable checks.

In January 2026, the Austrian beekeeping organisation Biene Österreich warned about the additional pressure the agreement could bring to the sector. Its position paper calls for effective authenticity checks and traceability back to the beekeeper. Source: position paper published by the European Beekeeping Association.

To me, that’s a perfectly reasonable request.

If we’re competing in the same market, buyers should get honest information, and fraud shouldn’t give anyone an advantage.

Who pays when syrup is sold as honey?

The customer who doesn’t get what they paid for.

And the producer whose real honey is compared with an adulterated product.

The European Commission warns that adding cheaper sugar syrups gives fraudsters an unfair advantage and may discourage beekeepers from continuing their work. Source: European Commission.

That’s what feels most unfair to me. One person works through a season of caring for bees, investing money and taking risks, while someone else tries to make a profit by hiding what their product actually contains.

That’s why we need both effective checks and customers who know what to ask.

Here’s what we can do together

When you choose honey with a clear origin from a producer you trust, you decide where your money goes and whose work you want to support.

And you can help even before your next purchase.

Share this article with someone who loves honey. Talk about where it comes from. Ask the seller about its origin and what evidence supports their quality claims.

If someone asks you how to recognise good honey, don’t promise them a magic test with water or a spoon. Encourage them to learn about the product and the people behind it.

I’d love to see more of us come together around Ray of Sunshine, asking these questions and sharing reliable information.

Every person who learns something new can pass it on.

If you’re already a customer, thank you for your trust. If you’re just getting to know us, take a look at our honey and feel free to ask anything you’d like to know.

Choose your jar of Ray of Sunshine honey.

I want local honey and the people behind it to have a future. I believe we can help make that happen together.

Luka
Ray of Sunshine ☀️

Article prepared in November 2026. Trade quotas allow imports under certain tariff conditions; they do not establish actual import volumes or the quality of individual honey products.