That dollar amount results from a 52.3% acceleration from $52.2 million 5 years earlier during 2020.
Year over year, the value of globally exported live bees increased by 9% compared to $72.9 million for 2023.
The top 5 most lucrative exporters of live bees are Slovakia, Belgium, United States of America, Canada and the Netherlands. Collectively, that quintet of leading international suppliers generated over three-quarters (76%) of globally exported live bees.
From a continental perspective, suppliers in Europe sold the highest dollar worth of exported live bees during 2024 with shipments valued at $44.1 million or 55.5% of the worldwide total. In second place were exporters in North America at 28.8% while another 9% of shipments containing live bees originated from Asia.
Smaller percentages came from suppliers in Oceania’s New Zealand and Australia (5%), Latin America’s Chile (1.7%), then Africa’s Morocco and South Africa (0.004%).
For research purposes, the 6-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for live bees is 010641.
Top Live Bees Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of live bees during 2024.
- Slovakia: US$15.5 million (19.5% of exported live bees)
- Belgium: $13.5 million (17%)
- United States: $12.1 million (15.2%)
- Canada: $10.8 million (13.6%)
- Netherlands: $8.5 million (10.7%)
- Türkiye: $3.84 million (4.8%)
- Italy: $3.79 million (4.8%)
- New Zealand: $2.7 million (3.4%)
- Spain: $2.1 million (2.6%)
- Uzbekistan: $2 million (2.5%)
- Chile: $1.4 million (1.7%)
- Australia: $1.3 million (1.6%)
- Israel: $890,000 (1.1%)
- Pakistan: $297,000 (0.4%)
- Hungary: $253,000 (0.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.3% of globally exported live bees in 2024.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of live bees since 2023 were: Hungary (up 912%), Uzbekistan (up 182%), Chile (up 101.5%) and Türkiye (up 47.5%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of live bees were: Australia (down -35.3% from 2023), New Zealand (down -27.3%), Slovakia (down -4.6%) and Italy (down -4.3%).
Countries Enjoying Best Trade Surpluses from Live Bees
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for live bees during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported live bees and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Slovakia: US$15.3 million (down -5.1% since 2023)
- Belgium: $13 million (up 10.2%)
- United States: $10.6 million (up 1.4%)
- Türkiye: $3.8 million (up 57.8%)
- Italy: $2.9 million (down -12.6%)
- Netherlands: $2.9 million (reversing a -$222,000 deficit)
- New Zealand: $2.7 million (down -27.3%)
- Uzbekistan: $1.7 million (up 320.2%)
- Chile: $1.4 million (up 109.6%)
- Australia: $1.3 million (down -35.3%)
- Israel: $723,000 (up 18.1%)
- Pakistan: $193,000 (up 129.8%)
- Malta: $44,000 (down -81.1%)
- Tajikistan: $15,000 (reversing a -$14,000 deficit)
- Kyrgyzstan: $10,000 (reversing a -$219,000 deficit)
Slovakia, Belgium and the United States of America earned the highest surpluses in the international trade of live bees. In turn, these positive cashflows confirm the countries’ strong competitive advantages for this specific product category.
Countries Experiencing Worst Trade Deficits from Live Bees
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for live bees during 2024. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported live bees purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- Saudi Arabia: -US$15 million (up 20.7% since 2023)
- Canada: -$8.8 million (down -29%)
- Morocco: -$8.6 million (up 26.9%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$5.3 million (down -0.7%)
- United Kingdom: -$4.3 million (up 76.8%)
- Japan: -$4 million (down -12.2%)
- Russia: -$3.3 million (up 63%)
- France: -$2.7 million (down -11.5%)
- Kuwait: -$2.5 million (up 26.1%)
- Spain: -$2.1 million (up 41.9%)
- Portugal: -$1.1 million (up 62.5%)
- Hungary: -$1 million (up 155.6%)
- Switzerland: -$789,000 (up 30.6%)
- Turkmenistan: -$714,000 (up 18.6%)
- Poland: -$654,000 (up 1768.6%)
Saudi Arabia and Canada incurred the highest deficits in the international trade of live bees. In turn, these negative cashflows highlight both countries’ competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signal opportunities for live bees-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Bee Hives Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are examples of companies that export customized bee hives.
- Biosota Organics Pty Ltd (Australia)
- Epsilon Industries YYM LTD (Israel)
- Finex Trading Ltd (United Kingdom)
- Heze City Minghui Native Products (China)
- New Sunshine International (New Zealand)
- Salcan Mobilya (Turkey)
- South Florida Bee Supplies, LLC (United States)
- VITCO Beekeeping Supplies (India)
The home-country location for each business above appears within parentheses.
See also Natural Honey Exports by Country, Flower Bouquet Exports by Country and Top Water and Ice Exporters
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Suppliers for live bees. Accessed on January 31, 2026
Central Intelligence Agency, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on January 31, 2026
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on January 31, 2026
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on January 31, 2026
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on January 31, 2026
Wikipedia, Beekeeping. Accessed on January 31, 2026