KYIV, Aug 9 – The growth in demand for honey in the external and internal markets, caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may create a situation when beekeepers will run out of these products by the end of 2021, and in warehouses by the end of winter 2022, founder of the Znatny Med brand Valeriy Kureiko said Monday.

According to him, this season the shortage of spring and early summer varieties of honey has grown by almost half compared to 2020, including honey from acacia by almost 40%, from linden by 50%, from sunflower from 30%, while it is expected an increase in the collection of buckwheat and rapeseed honey by 20% to 30%. Thus, in 2021, honey harvest in Ukraine may amount to 80,000 to 100,000 tons of honey per year, but this is not enough to meet internal and external demand caused by the growth in honey consumption as a means of strengthening immunity during coronavirus pandemic.