In 2018, the quantity of the product with a protected designation of origin (DOP) Serra da Lousã stood at 900 kilos, the lowest in the last 30 years, after the fires of 2017 consumed extensive areas of forest where heather, whose flowers are the basis of the unique characteristics of this honey was predominant.

This year, the honey delivered so far for certification is around six tons, "very far from the productive potential" of the cooperative, which in recent years has reached more than 20 tons, said today to Lusa agency the director of Lousãmel, Ana Paula Sançana.

DOP honey has its characteristics very altered, it is much lighter" than usual, considering that the dark color is one of the characteristics of DOP honey, which beekeepers sell at the Honey and Chestnut Fair of Lousã, whose 30th edition is held from November 15 to 17.

"We only see eucalyptus everywhere," she said, regretting that this exotic species once again dominates the landscape, two years after the fires that ravaged the Central region on June 17 and October 15, 2017.

This time, the honey that most Lousãmel members delivered for certification - a process that includes validation by a panel of tasters, among other legal requirements - "is also more runny.

"A red light is lit here for forestry policies," particularly in the municipalities of Serra da Lousã PDO: Arganil, Castanheira de Pera, Figueiró dos Vinhos, Góis, Lousã, Miranda do Corvo, Pampilhosa da Serra, Pedrógão Grande, Penela and Vila Nova de Poiares, in the districts of Coimbra and Leiria.

This trend is making the cooperative very worried.

However, there is still "a lot of honey that keeps its characteristics, where the native flora has been able to regenerate".

With climate change, fires, the expansion of exotic and invasive species, especially eucalyptus and mimosa pudica, and the reduction of forest areas in which heathers and other native honey plants abound, "we can't see" that the characteristics of this DOP honey "can be maintained" in the future.

Other problems that threaten honey production in Portugal are the spread of the Asian hornet, which decimates bees, the theft of hives and "cuts in state support" for the sector, she warned.