Honey Exports Reach 800 Tons

Tehran, May 12, IRNA - Iran exported 800 tons honey to Persian Gulf littoral states and southeast Asian countries in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2014), said the head of Iran Honey Association. In an exclusive interview with the English-language newspaper ˈIran Dailyˈ published Monday, Abdolreza Bigonah added that Iran annually produces 50,000 tons of honey. He noted that Iran’s climatic and floral diversity is unique, adding that having plains and mountains, as well as hot and cold weather in the south and north of the country concurrently, enables Iran to produce honey in different seasons. “Iran has more than 6 million modern beehives and ranks among the world’s top five in this regard. However, it produces less honey compared to these countries, which indicates weaknesses in Iran’s honey production sector,” he said. Germany, US, China, Japan, Turkey and Ukraine are major honey producers. Bigonah put the price of each kilogram of honey at up to $50, stressing that honey production is very profitable. “Each 100 beehives create jobs for two people,” he said. The official said that in addition to honey, the beekeeping industry also yields other products such as pollen, royal jelly and wax. Bigonah said nomadic beekeepers produce half of the country’s honey. Commenting on Iran’s honey production decline in recent years, he said that in the past two years, 70 percent of the beehives were destroyed. “Unfortunately, illegally imported medicines and vaccines used by beekeepers to kill pests and vaccinate their bees were not standard and had adverse effects,” he said./end