Beekeepers to feature 150 tons of honey at fair in Baku

The 19th Honey Fair will be held in Baku on October 5-28.

The fair included 150 tons of filament honey from 371 entrepreneurs throughout the republic.

“More than five tons are frame honey. Most of the bee products have come from Astara and Aran economic regions,” Head of the Veterinary Department of the Agriculture Ministry Asaf Omarov told Trend.

The head of the department underlined that there are 271,682 bee families in Azerbaijan.

“The annual average productivity of every bee family is 10 kg. Annual honey production in the republic is 3,000 tons, and honey consumption is 5,000 tons.

Most bee families are in Zagatala (17,097), Astara (12,429), Gakh (9,125), Lerik (8,669) and Balakan (8,581),” he said.

Omarov said that the Ministry was responsible for organizing and quality of products every year. This year, the Ministry is responsible for the organizational issues of the fair.

Badraddin Hasratov, chairman of the Association of Beekeepers of Azerbaijan, said that the production of honey this year is relatively small compared to last year. He said that the average price of 20 kilograms per kg this year will be 20-25 manat ($11.7-$14.7). He also announced that beekeepers are free to determine the price.

The sale of honey will be organized at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium at Fatali Khan Khoysky Street, 10. The fair will open at 12:00.

Beekeeping in Azerbaijan is one of the most diverse types of agriculture. There are about 600 species of honey plants in Azerbaijan, almost 200 of which, as a source of nectar and pollen, create even greater natural opportunities for expanding beekeeping.

From 1990 to 1999, beekeeping in the country decreased by 45 percent. There were many reasons for that. Most apiaries were destroyed in the area of military operations.

Currently, the Azerbaijani government does all its best to contribute to the rehabilitation and further development of beekeeping with creating favorable conditions for beekeepers.

The main task nowadays is to increase the production of honey and export it through participation of beekeepers in international markets under the ‘Made in Azerbaijan’ brand.