30 apiarists have won a competition of the National Association of Beekeepers and USAID Moldova, having each received 80 beehives. Andrei Bivol, from Bardar village, Ialoveni district, is among the winners.

The man has been using beehives for many years and claims that they have many advantages.

A vertical beehive costs around 2 000 lei, the price being double of a horizontal one. For some apiarists they seem rather expensive.

"We, apiarists from Republic of Moldova, cannot yet afford to make such big investment because at the moment beekeeping is not very profitable" an apiarist said.

Within this program, around 400 apiarists will be trained in correctly using beehives.

"We have apiarists that have been using 3/4 frames for many years. Some of them have no idea how such beehives are used" president of National Association of Beekeepers, Ion Maxim said.

The project costs 2.9 million lei.

"Lately, the sector begun receiving much assistance. We aim to transform beekeeping from a hobby into a business" director of USAID Moldova, Karen Hilliard said.

Each year in Moldova is being produced around five thousand tonnes of honey. 15% are being sold in local markets, while the rest are exported to EU countries, such as Romania, Italy and France.