Opportunities for the cooperation of Bulgarian apiculture producers

Bulgarian apiculture is export-oriented and this market direction forms the basis for social and organizational relations between producers in the sector. In Bulgaria, there are 27officially registered beekeeping unions and a number of other forms of association. Despite the existence of these organizations, most bee farms operate and realize their production independently. The cooperation of the beekeepers in the country can lead to improvements in production, increasing its economic results and improving the state of the sector. The purpose of the present study is to assess the state of Bulgarian beekeeping and to propose cooperative models for the development of production in the sector. To achieve the goal, the following main tasks must be solved: to analyze the state of Bulgarian beekeeping; to assess the competitiveness of the main production – natural honey; to reveal the main problems facing the sector; to propose cooperative models for solving these problems.