Beekeeping sector targets sustainable exports and higher-value honey

Beekeeping is emerging as a sizable commercial agricultural sector in Vietnam. The country currently has around 35,000 beekeeping households and 1.3-1.4 million bee colonies, producing approximately 59,000 tonnes of honey in 2025.

Most of the output is destined for international markets, with the United States an important export market for Vietnamese honey. This provides an advantage but also places increasingly stringent demands on product quality, food safety, residue control and traceability.

Under the sector’s development plan through 2030, Vietnam aims to maintain around 1.3-1.5 million bee colonies, with annual honey production stable at 55,000-60,000 tonnes and around 80% of output destined for export. Average productivity is targeted at more than 42kg per colony per year for imported bees and more than 18kg for native bees.

From small-scale beekeeping to value-chain development

At the heart of the Sustainable Beekeeping Sector Development Scheme through 2030, approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2024, is the goal of developing beekeeping along value chains, while making the sector more professional and modern and linking production more closely with markets.

The scheme also aims to promote deeper processing, diversify higher-value products, enhance competitiveness and boost exports.

Under the implementation plan, localities and businesses are encouraged to reorganise production, strengthen links among beekeepers, collectors, processors and exporters, and promote greater private-sector participation throughout the honey value chain.

The shift is important because one of the sector’s current weaknesses is its small and fragmented production base, which makes it difficult to maintain consistent quality and ensure traceability from individual bee colonies to finished products.

Le Quoc Thanh, director of the National Agricultural Promotion Centre, said beekeepers need opportunities to learn from effective production models.

“We need to help beekeepers learn from successful production models, keep up with updated techniques and processes, connect with markets and, above all, build brands for their products,” Thanh told VOV.

Major export market, tougher requirements

The United States is an important market for Vietnamese honey. However, dependence on major export markets also means that businesses must meet increasingly stringent requirements.

The US Department of Commerce has recently continued its review of anti-dumping duties on raw honey imported from Vietnam, covering the period from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.

Meanwhile, Europe offers room for expansion but also imposes demanding requirements on product origin and authenticity. The Vietnam Trade Office in Sweden said Nordic countries are applying stricter traceability requirements, with businesses expected to maintain complete records covering the hive, harvesting, processing and packaging, while clearly demonstrating the origin of their honey.

This shows that for Vietnamese honey, large production volumes alone are not enough to expand export markets. Consistent quality, traceability and control across the supply chain are increasingly essential to retaining markets and increasing product value.

Science, technology and branding key to higher value

The development strategy through 2030 focuses not only on maintaining the number of bee colonies, but also on improving productivity, quality and economic efficiency per colony.

The sector is therefore encouraged to apply scientific and technical advances, improve bee stocks and production practices, and develop a wider range of bee products rather than relying mainly on exports of raw honey.

Deeper processing could help businesses create greater value instead of competing primarily on the price of raw materials. In addition to honey, other bee products can be developed to meet changing market demand, creating more opportunities for the sector.

Alongside technology, building a Vietnamese honey brand is another important priority.

As international consumers pay greater attention to the origin, quality and sustainability of food products, branding is increasingly inseparable from the ability to demonstrate how and where a product is produced and which standards it meets.

Expanding markets, maintaining quality

The EU’s decision to allow Vietnamese honey access to its market in 2013 opened up significant opportunities, but the region’s demanding technical requirements also demonstrate how difficult the market can be to penetrate.

Vietnamese honey has previously faced concerns related to issues such as moisture content and quality control, highlighting the need to strengthen links throughout the supply chain, from beekeepers to exporters.

Therefore, the goal for the sector through 2030 is not simply to maintain annual production at 55,000-60,000 tonnes, but, more importantly, to increase the share of products meeting international standards, raise value-added and maintain competitiveness in export markets.

From a fragmented production activity relying heavily on experience, Vietnam’s beekeeping sector is being encouraged to develop into a more professional commercial value chain, covering bee stocks, floral resources, beekeeping techniques, harvesting, processing, traceability and branding.

If this transition can be achieved, Vietnamese honey will not only generate substantial export volumes but could also deliver greater value to beekeepers, businesses and the ecosystems where beekeeping is practiced.

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