Croatian honey is of high quality but Croatian citizens lag behind in honey consumption, Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolusic said in Gudovac near Bjelovar on Saturday, opening the 15th International Beekeeping Fair, which features 136 beekeepers from Croatia and another seven European countries.

“In the long term, the best way to promote Croatian honey is to raise awareness of this food product from a very early age,” the minister said.

He recalled a 2 million kuna project to design a national honey jar, saying it was significant both for producers and buyers as the latter could be sure they were buying real Croatian honey which met all the requirements.

Tolusic recalled that since 2017 the Agriculture Ministry had been implementing the National Beekeeping Programme, worth 18 million kuna a year.

Croatian Beekeepers Federation president Zeljko Vrbos said 2019 was the year of Croatian honey. He commended new regulations stipulating that a jar of honey must bear the name of the country in which the honey was made and preventing mixes of honey from different countries.

Bjelovar Fair director Davorin Posavac said the International Beekeeping Fair in Gudovac was the biggest regional event of its kind.

(€ 1 = 7.4 kuna)