Development of beekeeping in Ukraine; successes achieved, the need for marketing cooperation in the industry, the strategy of the honey business

Abstract

Introduction. Beekeeping is one of the traditional and most ancient branches of Ukrainian agriculture, which is engaged in breeding bees and obtaining from them honey and other beekeeping products. From ancient times for Ukrainian peasants, honey was one of the main goods in the trade of that time and a separate source of profit. In modern conditions, beekeeping performs a very important intersectoral multifaceted function, as the obtained bee honey and beekeeping auxiliary products (royal jelly, wax, propolis, bee venom, pollen) are widely used in more than 40 industries, as well as in medicine, sculpture, painting. Today, Ukrainian beekeeping is a sphere of economic activity that not only provides employment but also forms a market for the industry, gives the opportunity to develop in this type of agribusiness, both domestic and foreign markets. Its foundation is not only the fact that Ukraine accounts for about 6% of world honey production, but also the fact that consumer demand for Ukrainian honey on the world market is growing dynamically, and as a result, our country is in the TOP-3 largest world exporters of bee honey. The aim of the study is a systematic analysis of the dynamics of production and sale of honey as the main product of beekeeping in Ukraine, identification of the main economic and environmental factors shaping the demand for bee honey, substantiation of strategic guidelines for further development of beekeeping for decent competition in domestic and global honey markets. Results. It is established that the main market for Ukrainian honey is the EU countries, among which the largest consumers are Germany and Poland. In second place after the EU, the US became the buyer of domestic beekeepers. It is indicated that in order to expand export quotas for the supply of honey to EU countries, its entry into new segments of the world market, an important factor is the streamlining of the honey business. It is emphasized that due to the instability and existing challenges of the foreign honey market, the strategy of domestic beekeeping should be focused not on increasing the number of bee colonies and gross honey production, but on a more stable domestic market and modern honey processing technologies. It is argued that in order to create better conditions for the sale of beekeeping products by small and medium-sized agricultural producers, which as a result of pooling resources in cooperatives, will be able to use the latest technologies, form their marketing channels and thus strengthen their position in the agricultural food market. Prospects. The study of the honey business system, improving the quality of bee honey are necessary areas of further research in beekeeping in Ukraine, because these important components deserve special attention in further adaptation of the beekeeping industry to international standards and trade conditions.