Honey will remain scarce in Ukraine in the near future, and its price will continue to grow. According to experts' estimates, in some regions in 2025 the price of the product has already increased by 1.5 times compared to last year, and the situation on the market is compared to a "perfect storm". This is reported by Dengi.ua with reference to "Focus".
It is noted that, according to industry experts, in the summer of 2025, the Ukrainian honey market is experiencing large-scale changes accompanied by a noticeable increase in price.
FAO national consultant Anna Burka emphasized to the publication that the current year has become one of the most difficult for beekeeping in the last decade, describing the situation as a "perfect storm" caused by a combination of several factors.
"The year 2025 is indeed shaping up to be one of the most challenging years for the honey industry in the last decade. This situation is being shaped by several key factors creating a 'perfect storm' for the industry. The first and most painful reason remains the consequences of military actions - the destruction of apiaries, the inability to conduct beekeeping activities in an active war zone and the like. The second critical factor was unfavorable weather conditions, which resulted in a decrease in the supply of honey on the market, particularly varietal honeys (spring honeys), against the background of an increase in the cost of honey production," explains Anna Burka.
Preliminary data indicate extremely modest volumes of spring and acacia honey, while the harvest of linden honey amounted to only about half of the annual average, and sunflower honey may be a third less than last year
"Now it is too early to talk about the final honey harvest data, and the harvest will differ from region to region, but the trend of decreasing harvest is already a fact. Thus, according to preliminary estimates, an extremely limited amount of spring honeys, acacia honey, and linden honey has been harvested - half of last year's harvest, the amount of sunflower honey harvested may be up to 30% less than last year. As a consequence, the current price situation shows dramatic changes compared to previous years. For comparison, the purchase price for varietal honeys has increased by almost 50 percent. For example, if last year the wholesale price for linden honey was 80-85 UAH per kg, this year it reaches 120-130 UAH/kg depending on the region and volume," - said Burka.
According to the publication, increased demand from processors, exporters and end buyers with limited supply will continue to push prices up. The market will gradually adjust, but consumers will have to put up with high prices for natural honey and products based on it at least until next season. Therefore, the price forecast, according to the expert, remains unfavorable.
"In the near future, the situation is unlikely to improve," - says the FAO consultant.