First National Honey Expo begins

The “First National Honey Expo 2070” kicked off in City Hall, Kathmandu, on Thursday. The four-day exhibition organised by Nepal Central Honey Entrepreneurs’ Association in conjunction with the Directorate of Commercial Pest Development aims to disseminate relevant information on Nepali honey and related products.
Inaugurating the exhibition, Agriculture Minister Tek Bahadur Thapa said bee-keeping and honey production has a huge potential.
“The ministry has been working on promoting honey production in coordination with the private sector,” he said, adding Nepal has the capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes of honey annually from an estimated 1 million beehives.

The expo will house 33 stalls showcasing a wide variety of local honey . There will also be a separate stall to provide information about bee-harvesting, honey processing and tools used in honey production.

“The expo aims to create awareness about Nepali honey and bee-related products and to promote commercialisation of the sector amid declining business of Nepali honey in the international market,” said Dharma Raj Shrestha, president of the association.

The Trade and Export Promotion Centre statistics show honey export, which amounted to Rs 1.89 million in 2011-12, reduced to a negligible volume last year. “Lack of quality assurance along with absence of initiatives for organic honey production has affected the export,” said Jay Mukunda Khanal, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD). Sensing the potential of honey , the government has included the product in the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010. Toya Narayan Gyawali, joint-secretary at Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, said the government plans to invest in honey promotion from the 8 million euros that the European Union has pledged for NTIS.
Local farmers produce honey prepared from flowers of mustard, millet, chiuri, rudilo, jamun or the herbals found in the wild.
Visitors at the expo can find a wide range of honey , including those produced in Surkhet, Kailali, Ramechhap, Myagdi and Kathmandu districts, among others.

Ambar Bahadur Tarami Magar, an exhibitor from Surkhet, said they were hopeful that the expo would help them expand the market. Magar is showcasing the honey prepared from rudilo and mustard.
He said GIZ—a Germany-based non-government organisation—District Agriculture Office and Cottage and Small Industry Development Board, are supporting honey production in Surkhet.

He said through a cooperative, 250 farmers are producing around 60 tonnes of honey from more than 1,500 beehives.

Prakritik Premi Mauri Sahakari from Jhor, Kathmandu, has also been selling honey prepared from mustard, rudilo and millet. Sambhu Karki, chairman of the cooperative, said the honey prepared from millet can also be consumed by diabetic patients. The cooperative, in support from the World Bank and Project for Agriculture Commercialisation and Trade (PACT), has been harvesting honey produced from 200 bee-hives of 33 farmers.

The visitors can also find lichi and herbal honey produced by Dhaulagiri Honey from Beni, Maygdi. Parvati Kandel, proprietor of Dhaulagiri, said the honey produced from herbals was suitable for people having joint problems. She said they have 400 beehives.

The honey at the expo has been priced from Rs 350 to Rs 1,100 per kg. According to the organiser, they will also conduct a one-day workshop on the ‘Prospects and Challenges of Honey Business’ during the event.

source: the kathmandu Post,3 Oct 2013