Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Some 3,000 tons of honey were produced in Azerbaijan in 2017, Badraddin Hasratov, chairman of the Beekeepers Association, told Trend Jan. 8.
He added that last year, 5,000 tons of honey were consumed in Azerbaijan.
“This means that presently, domestic production ensures 60 percent of the demand for honey in Azerbaijan,” Hasratov said. “We buy the remaining volume of honey from abroad.”
He noted that there are 300,000 bee families in the country. He added that in 2017, the number of bee families in Azerbaijan increased by 50,000, compared to the end of 2016.
“We had 250,000 bee families as of early 2017,” he noted. “After wintering we lost about 80,000 bee families, however, during last year, we were able not only to compensate for the losses, but also to increase the population of bees. Considering Azerbaijan’s potential, we hope to bring the number of bee families to 700,000. This will allow us to completely eliminate dependence on honey imports, as well as expand honey exports.”
Earlier, Hasratov said that 2,300 tons of honey were produced in Azerbaijan in 2016. For the last year, honey production in the country grew 30 percent.