Almost 70 Ukrainian honey producers licensed to ship produce abroad – watchdog

"Sixty-seven business entities engaged in the production and/or storage of honey and licensed to export their products outside Ukraine have been included in the state register of authorized exporters," it said.

As reported, Ukrainian enterprises shipped 57,000 tonnes of honey abroad in 2016, while honey exports in the first half of 2017 were 37,000 tonnes. The European Union, the CIS member states, Africa, and Asia are major consumers of Ukrainian honey.

Read alsoUkraine's honey exports hit record high in 9 months of 2017The largest number of domestic honey exporters, namely 11 businesses, was registered in Kyiv region, while nine in Dnipropetrovsk region, seven in Kirovohrad region, five in Odesa and Rivne regions each, and four in Lviv, Khmelnytsky, and Kherson regions each.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association (UCAB) said Ukraine's honey exports in 2016 hit a record high of 56,900 tonnes, which was 58.2% up against 2015, and almost 6 times more than in 2011. In monetary terms, honey exports in 2016 amounted to US$97.3 million, which was 15.8% more than a year before.

According to the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry, there are currently about 400,000 honey producers in Ukraine.