Sió-Eckes will support the association's work with a communication campaign, educational events, and worker activities, the company said.

Managing director Dezső Mészáros said the partners would "combine forces to protect the most important source of natural labor for fruit production".

The company noted that 76% of global food production is reliant on pollination by bees. But bee populations have declined by around 60% since the 1970s.

 OMME chairman Péter Bross warned of the "irreversible consequences" for humans of the possible extinction of bees.