Mariovo honey gets a protected name after ten years of work, but whether it brings in money, there's no public data

Eight beekeepers from Pelagonia have officially won the right to write "Mariovo honey" on their jars. Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Minister Borče Serafimovski handed them their certificates of entry in the Register of Geographical Indication Users in Bitola, at the opening of the 29th "Days of Macedonian Beekeeping" event on Magnolia Square.

"Behind this result lie around ten years of work and perseverance by the beekeepers in protecting the geographical origin of Mariovo honey," the minister said. Ten years - for one product name.

What they get, and what they have to protect

A geographical indication is not one company's trademark, but a collective right. Registered beekeepers can use the protected name on packaging, in advertising and in business documents, and can stop others from misusing it. In return, they must stick to the specification - the area, the production method and the characteristics of the honey - and allow inspections. "Together with the right to use the protected name comes the responsibility to preserve its special characteristics," Serafimovski said.

Sounds good. But who will carry out those inspections, how often, and will every batch of honey be checked or just the paperwork? That has not been explained so far.

No data on earnings

The minister talks about "additional income through attractive packaging, cooperation with the hospitality sector and links with rural tourism". The problem is that for Macedonia there is no publicly available, comparable data on how much sales, prices or revenues of products have grown after they received a geographical indication. A 2025 academic paper in the journal "De Jure" by professors Emilija Gjorgioska and Dijana Gorgieva of St. Kliment Ohridski University points to exactly this weakness, calling for clearer rules and responsibilities, better training for producers and a more active state in protection and promotion.

In Bitola the minister also admitted that honey yields are down this year, and called climate change a reality beekeepers have to adapt to. So Mariovo honey got its protected name in a year when there is less of it. If the name does not bring a better price as well, the beekeepers of Mariovo will be left with a nice certificate on the wall. And the state will not even find out, because that kind of data simply does not exist in public.