Ukraine is a leading country in the world in the field of beekeeping, which provide pollination entomophilous crops, production of honey, wax, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom. Bee Branch meets the needs of the population, food, medical, perfumery and cosmetics, etc. industries, and actively exported. According to the General Department of Statistics of Ukraine, in all categories of farms, there are up to 3 million bee colonies. Annually apiaries produced 40 to 75 thousand tons of honey (honey volume of exports – about 3-5 thousand tons). Important economic indicators of the industry is the production of other bee products – propolis, pollen, royal jelly, drone homogenate, bee venom, which are the basis for the manufacture of a number of therapeutic drugs and nutrition products. All the more widely used treatment and prevention of diseases by means of bee products, the so-called apitherapy.
According to the UNESCO organization in the world there are about 40 million bee colonies, apiculture covers all continents except Antarctica.
Beekeeping in Ukraine is pollination and honey direction. Enhances crop yields by 30-60% and higher, depending on the plant species and pollination conditions. In addition, it increases the quality of the fruit, their natural weight increases. Increasing crop yields at pollination by bees flowers averages: the rape of 25-30%; sunflower – 40%; buckwheat – 41%; Red clover – 75%; alfalfa – 50%; melons – 60%; fruit – 65%; mustard – 35-61%. Besides honey-pollination, beekeeping in the area even distinguish such product lines: honey trade, pollination, and complex. At the same time in the structure of the productive complex of beekeeping is not pronounced one or two product lines: the different kinds of bee products have the same share in the total volume of its production.
A special regulation of public relations step in beekeeping was the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Beekeeping” dated 22 February 2000, the purpose of which was to regulate relations on cultivation, use and protection of bees, production, harvesting and processing of bee products, the efficient use of bees for pollination entomophilies plants agricultural purposes, creating conditions for increasing productivity of bees and crops, to guarantee human rights and protect the interests of individuals and legal entities engaged in beekeeping. Article №1 of the Act reveals how the content of beekeeping sector of agricultural production, the basis for the functioning of which is the breeding, maintenance and use of bees for pollination of plants entomofilnih agricultural land and increase their productivity, food production and raw materials for industry.
Industry Development Program beekeeping in Ukraine approved by the joint order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine and UAAS from July 13, 2006 # 374/62, developed pursuant to the Law of Ukraine “On Beekeeping” in order to create a competitive industry. The program takes into account and developed the provisions of the relevant articles of the Act to improve governance in the sector of beekeeping, to monitor the effectiveness of pollination entomophilous plants, training on beekeeping in specialized schools, coordination of training and retraining of beekeeping experts, organization of state support of beekeeping, bee conservation when used in agriculture and forestry, plant protection products.
For the development of the regulatory framework in the field of beekeeping adopted a joint order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine and UAAS “On approval of normative-legal acts on the development of bee-keeping” of the September 20, 2000 № 184/82. This order approves a number of normative documents: pedigree zoning plan of bees; The procedure for issuing veterinary and sanitary passport apiary; The procedure for registration of apiaries; Rules of import to Ukraine and export from the bees and bee products.
Important for regulation in the field of beekeeping activity is instruction on the prevention and elimination of diseases and poisoning of bees, approved by order of the Chief State Inspector of Veterinary Medicine of Ukraine from January 5, 2001 № 9, Manual outlines the basic requirements for the rational management of beekeeping: 1) placement requirements and arrangement of apiaries; 2) Content requirements, feeding and breeding of bees; 3) requirements for transportation (migrations) to honey bees and pollination; 4) measures to protect against the introduction of pathogens apiaries contagious diseases of bees and bee poisoning by pesticides.