Czech beekeepers had their worst season in 50 years, according to a report in Seznam Zpravy driving prices up as demand for honey increases This year's chilly May and June months took quite a toll on beekeepers in the country according to the Czech Association of Beekeepers domestic bees produced 4,800 tons of honey This number doesn't quite correspond to the average bee production for individual beekeepers across the country Beekeepers across the Czech Republic have reported fewer and fewer honey yields each year this season is the worst in the last fifty years they are also doing badly in Slovakia and other neighboring countries," Jarmila Machová president of the Czech Association of Beekeepers The main reason is the weather - a cold and rainy May and June Heavy agriculture has been reducing biodiversity in the Czech Republic specifically the number of meadows and flowers for bees Farmers use certain pesticides that will kill insects years of drought in the country have dramatically reduced the amount of nectar in flowers; bees All these factors combined will weaken bee colonies leaving them more susceptible to diseases like bee plague or varroosis Slavia pojišťovna now offers insurance for beekeepers to help protect them and their colonies from certain risks Beekeeping in the Czech Republic has become increasingly difficult in recent years He started beekeeping with his father ten years ago in Třebechovice pod Orebem "This year's production was abnormally low, about a third of what we had two years ago," Mlateček said. He cares for 40 hives It won't be clear until much later how the year's conditions will impact world honey production the Czech Republic ranked as 39th in world honey production The honey production won't be enough to cover the growing demand for honey from locals Data from 2018 says that every Czech consumes about a kilogram of honey each year the country will often import honey from Ukraine to meet their need export some of their local honey to Slovakia I'm talking about the price of honey when sold from the yard. It is on average CZK 150 per kilogram you can pay over CZK 200. I expect the price to increase from 10 to 30 crowns per kilogram," Machová told Seznam The increase in price might not be reflected at the retail level "The purchasing power and the willingness of the consumer to pay the increased price are also important And it is different in cities and in the countryside So I think that if there is an increase in prices in stores Beekeeping is a longstanding tradition in the Czech Republic and the country has the most beekeepers per capita in the European Union most keepers are located in Central Bohemia and Karlovy Vary Prague has the highest number of beekeepers The country also ranks high when it comes to the number of hives per square kilometer The Czech Republic has the third highest number of hives per square kilometer in Europe according to the analytical project Europe in the data and data of the Food and Agriculture Organization from 2018 and South Korea had more hives per square kilometer "Beekeeping is a hobby in which I am always learning something new Watching the bees work and communicate with each other is wonderful and recharging," says Mlateček "Bees teach me patience and I realize in them how we are connected to nature and how we depend on it Your morning coffee deserves a great companion. Why not enjoy it with our daily newsletter? News from Czechia, curated insights, and inspiring stories in English.