One Kilo of Honey per Hive Instead of Ten: Beekeepers Call 2026 One of the Worst Years, While Social Media Offers Honey at 300 Denars a Kilo

In the Kumanovo area, a single bee colony usually yields 10 to 15 kilograms of honey. This year some beekeepers got around one kilogram, and some hives had nothing to harvest at all. In the Prilep area, where the average in good years was 8 to 10 kilograms, some producers saw it drop to two or three, and some to zero.

"I've been keeping bees for more than 30 years and I maintain that this is one of the weakest production years of the past five decades," said Dejan Boškoski, president of the Prilep beekeepers' association "Bratstvo", at the opening of the 17th Honey Festival in Prilep. Around 150 beekeepers work in the Prilep area.

Weather, fire and empty pastures

Beekeepers describe the season as a series of blows: cold and rain in spring, just when the nectar plants bloom, then heatwaves and drought. The figures confirm it - September 2026 was about one degree warmer than the 1991-2020 average, and rainfall was 48 percent below average. In Mariovo, meanwhile, fires destroyed many bee colonies, and the association raised money to help colleagues there.

There's also a cause that doesn't show up in the weather forecast. As livestock numbers fall, mountain pastures are no longer grazed, and where nectar-rich herbs once grew, there are now thorns the bees don't use.

Subsidies versus bills

At the 29th "Days of Macedonian Beekeeping" in Bitola, Agriculture Minister Borče Serafimovski admitted that production has fallen and that climate change "is a reality" we have to adapt to. In March the state paid out 21.4 million denars to 1,021 beekeepers, an average of around 21,000 denars per beekeeper, and 600 denars are set aside for each registered colony that survives the winter. Beekeepers reply that they invest five to six times that.

Then there's the market. On social media, honey is advertised at 4 kilograms for 1,200 denars - 300 denars a kilo, in a year when real honey has almost vanished. Beekeepers warn about fake honey online and cheap, dubious imported honey, and advise buying from known producers. The Prilep beekeepers agreed not to raise prices, at least during the festival.

If a beekeeper gets 600 denars for a colony that barely survives the winter, and social media offers honey at prices domestic producers can't compete with, who will be left to keep bees?