- January 18, 2026
- 4:34 pm
- World News
In 2025, Ukraine enters the global agro-export agenda not only because of grain and oil. According to the results of 2024 (these are the figures that markets and analysts operate with in 2025), Ukrainian honey brought the country to the fifth place among the largest exporters in the world — a rare example of an industry that held on and even grew amid war, logistical constraints, and nervous demand for food.
This is not about “beautiful statistics.” Honey is currency, jobs in the regions, established procurement chains, laboratory control, export contracts, and a reputation that can easily be lost with one quality failure. It is also a product purchased, including in Israel: the share is small but symbolically important for the market and for the Ukrainian brand in countries where import standards and trust in origin matter.
What exactly happened: Ukraine’s place in the world according to the results of 2024
According to data provided by AgroReview, Ukrainian producers in 2024 exported honey worth 167 million dollars. This is approximately 9.5% of the world’s honey exports in monetary terms. In the structure of Ukraine’s agricultural exports, honey accounted for about 0.7%.
Looking more broadly — Ukraine found itself among countries that have held leadership in the “honey” niche for years:
China — 265 million dollars
New Zealand — 250 million dollars
Argentina — 186 million dollars
India — 182 million dollars
Ukraine — 167 million dollars
It is important that this is a “monetary” picture, not just volumes in tons: the final position is influenced by prices, the specifics of varieties, contract conditions, the premium of certain categories (for New Zealand, this is a separate story), and how much the market is willing to pay for stable quality.
Where Ukrainian honey goes: EU, USA — and a small but noticeable Israel
According to the distribution of markets in 2024, the picture looks like this:
European Union — 82% of Ukrainian honey exports
USA — 15%
Israel — 1%
Japan — 1%
So Israel is not the main buyer by volume, but it is present on the supply map as a separate direction. For Ukrainian exporters, such markets usually work as a “showcase of requirements”: if you have enough discipline in documents, analyses, batch traceability, and stability, you can more easily scale to other countries.
Why 2025 discusses 2024: the market returns after a failure
The material notes that 2024 was a record year for Ukraine over the past decade, and this is associated with the gradual recovery of the global honey market after a noticeable decline in 2023.
For the “honey” industry, this is typical: demand can sharply contract due to prices, inflation, changes in consumer habits, and competition with mixed products, and then bounce back when networks and importers return to long-term contracts.
In 2025, these results begin to “live” separately from the calendar: they are used when confirming quotas, revising logistics, negotiating prepayments, and insuring supplies. Therefore, the request to “write in 2025” is logical here: the industry discusses and uses these figures as a working reality in the next year.
Logistics: why Ukraine transports honey not by sea, but by land
A separate layer of the story is how this export physically occurs.
According to data from the same source, in 2024, due to the priority of the European market, exporters more often relied on land routes:
about 83% of honey was exported by road and rail through the so-called “Solidarity Lanes”
another 10% went through Danube ports
and only 2% went through Black Sea ports
These figures well explain why the EU remains the main direction: if you are physically “sharpened” for a land corridor, you sell where it is easier to deliver. And supplies further — to the USA, Israel, Japan — become a more complex task in terms of cost and time, even if there is demand.
Context of 2025: the EU increasingly regulates agro-imports, and honey is also close to limits
In 2025, Ukrainian agro-export to the EU is a political topic, and this concerns not only sugar or grain. European discussions around trade preferences, quotas, and protective mechanisms directly affect such positions as honey: it is regularly mentioned in the list of sensitive goods.
For Ukrainian producers, this means a simple thing: staying in the “top five” is not enough. You need to be ready for tougher competition within the EU and for the fact that some volumes will have to be redistributed to other markets — including those where the share is still small but there is potential (and Israel looks logical in such a list).
What this means for Israel: why 1% is not “nothing”
One percent in the export structure sounds modest. But for the buyer, which is Israel, three aspects are important.
The first is predictability: if supplies go even in small batches, it means the chain works and there is an importer who knows how to live with it.
The second is quality and control. The Israeli market is usually not about “buying cheaper at any cost.” It is about documents, standards, laboratory indicators, and supplier reputation.
The third is the niche economy. Honey is a product that is easy to “kill” with dumping but difficult to “resurrect” without trust. Therefore, Ukraine’s presence in supplies is a signal that the product meets requirements and can expand if demand and logistical opportunity arise.
Questions most often asked about Ukrainian honey and export
Is Ukraine really in the top 5?
Yes, according to data provided by AgroReview for the results of 2024, Ukraine took the fifth place among the largest honey exporters in the world.
How much was earned from exports?
About 167 million dollars for 2024.
Who buys the most?
EU — 82%, USA — 15%, Israel and Japan — 1% each.
Why is almost nothing transported through the Black Sea?
According to the source’s estimate, the lion’s share went through land corridors and the Danube; sea ports accounted for only 2% of exports.
What’s next: keeping the position is harder than taking it
A phrase that is usually feared to be spoken aloud in such cases: Ukraine’s leadership in honey is not only about bees and apiaries. It’s about market access, transport, EU trade policy, currency risks, and how quickly the industry can adapt.
In 2025, the main challenge is to maintain export dynamics when Europe tightens the conversation about quotas and protective mechanisms, and alternative markets require additional costs for logistics and promotion. But the very figure “top-5” according to the results of 2024 shows: the industry has already learned to live in new conditions and sell the product where quality is willing to be paid for.
And if Israel remains on this supply map — albeit at the 1% level for now — it means Ukrainian honey has a chance to establish itself not only as “raw material for the large EU market” but also as a product that withstands competition in demanding directions. This is exactly the type of economic ties that are important today for both Ukraine and Israel — and that is why we continue to analyze such stories in the editorial office of «NAnews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency».
