A total of 21,500 tons of honey have been produced in West Azarbaijan Province in the current Iranian year that started on March 20, making the northwestern province the biggest honey producer in the country.
“The output accounts for 27% of Iran’s overall honey production this year, which were harvested from more than 1.34 million beehives. This year, West Azarbaijan ranked first in the number of beehives as well,” Rasoul Jalili, the head of West Azarbaijan Agricultural Organization, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official noted that only 110,471 of the total number of hives in the province are traditional and the remaining 1.23 million have been modernized, saying that from each one of these two types, an average of 5.5 kilograms and 17 kilograms of honey are harvested respectively.
“With more than 390,000 hives yielding around 10,000 tons of honey every year, Khoy County is the province’s top producer,” he said.
Jalili also said the honey industry has created 6,165 permanent and more than 5,000 seasonal jobs in West Azarbaijan.
According to Hassan Hatami, the CEO of West Azarbaijan Industrial Parks Organization, honey harvested in West Azarbaijan is exported to Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and other neighboring countries.
“The honey industry has also created many businesses in the province related to honey and honey production, including packaging, hive production and apiculture pharmaceutical units.”
A total of 112,000 tons of honey were produced in 10.5 million honeybee colonies across the country in the last Iranian year (March 2019-20), registering a 24% and 26% growth respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
According to the manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s Apiculture Expansion Project, Moshir Ghaffari, 2,223 tons of beewax were produced during the same period, registering a 134% year-on-year rise.
Around 3,288 tons of royal jelly, he said, were derived from these hives as well.
According to Ghaffari, per capita honey consumption in Iran stands at 1.3 kilogram per year.
“Based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ latest ranking, Iran is the world’s fourth biggest honey producer after China, Turkey and Argentina. Iran ranks the fourth biggest honeybee colony owner after India, China and Turkey,” he said in May.
The above rankings, Ghaffari explained, pertain to 2017, noting that the Agriculture Ministry has sent new data gained from a recent census to FAO for the figures to be updated.
“We intend to devise mandatory standards for honey production, which will not only help increase the quality of the country’s products but also prevent fake honey from entering the market,” he added.
Around 100,000 people are currently engaged in Iran’s beekeeping industry.
Beekeeping in Iran dates back to 2,000 to 3,000 years, though apiculture as we know it in its modern, industrial form started around three decades ago in Iran. Since then, the number of beekeepers and the amount of honey produced are increasing year by year.
East Azarbaijan and Ardabil are other main Iranian provinces where honey is produced.
