OREANDA-NEWS. On August 19, 2009 Moldova has submitted a report on measures taken to improve control over the monitoring of honey production and possibilities to resume honey exports to the European market to the EU Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General (DG SANCO), Moldovan Deputy Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Anatolie Spivacenco has said.

Spivacenco said that DG SANCO is to announce its decision within the next two months. According to him, over the last year, Moldovan beekeepers got acquainted with the substances used on the international market to cure bee families. At the same time, specialized laboratories have been permanently checking the quality of honey produced in Moldova.

The chairman of the National Association of Beekeepers, Stefan Condratiuc, today told a national seminar that Moldova could annually export 1,500-1,700 tons of honey to the EU markets. "Our beekeepers have realized that this product must have an enhanced quality in order to be shipped to the European markets," he said.

The EU halted honey imports from Moldova in June 2008, after the product proved to contain traces of antibiotics used by beekeepers to cure bee families. About 3,200 beekeepers operate in Moldova, with their maximal production capacity being 12,000 tons.