Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 18
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Insignificant growth is expected in honey production in Azerbaijan this year, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Beekeepers Association Badraddin Hasratov told Trend.
These are preliminary forecasts, because in a number of Azerbaijani districts, the process of honey decanting is not yet complete, he said.
"We expect that this year, honey production in Azerbaijan will be about 3,000 tons or slightly higher," Hasratov said.
Referring to the reasons for the decrease in forecasts, Hasratov noted that this problem arose due to the weather conditions in several Azerbaijani districts. Earlier, the Association forecasted the production of honey in Azerbaijan at 5,000 tons in 2018.
"In a number of mountainous and foothill districts of Azerbaijan, particularly in the north-western and northern districts of the country, the honey yield was very low, due to cold spring and then sharp warming," Hasratov said.
"As a result, the plant flowers couldn’t extract a large amount of pollen," he noted. "However, very high honey yield, up to 50 kilograms of honey from each bee family, was observed in a number of lowland regions and in the south of Azerbaijan, therefore, in general, the yield remained at last year’s level. In 2017, the yield in these regions averaged about 20 kilograms of honey from each bee family, so a very significant growth was achieved."
In 2017, Azerbaijan produced 3,000 tons of honey.
In accordance with the decree of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated March 5, 2018, in order to stimulate the development of beekeeping in the country, support small businesses and provide employment in rural areas to individuals and legal entities involved in beekeeping, a subsidy worth 10 manats per year for each bee family (beehive) will be paid during five years, including this year as well.
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