TLTP
ISLAMABAD
At a time when there has been a drastic decline in bee numbers globally due to intensive agriculture, pesticide use and climate change, commercial beekeeping is fast becoming a thriving business in Pakistan’s rural areas.
According to the All Pakistan Beekeepers Trade and Exporters Association, besides providing new job opportunities to thousands of men and women, the business is helping the country earn foreign exchange through exports, mainly to Middle Eastern countries.
Around $6m in foreign exchange is earned annually through honey exports to S. Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, said the association.
Pakistan currently produces around 7,500 metric tons of honey annually, with more than 8,000 beekeepers rearing exotic species in one million beehives, according to the government’s Honeybee Research Institute in Islamabad (HBRI).
In the financial year 2018-2019, Pakistan exported honey worth 966m rupees ($5.8m), about 260m rupees more than the year before, according to the institute.
Industry insiders predict the numbers will keep going up as the country’s beekeepers benefit from Pakistan’s ongoing push to reforest the country under its “10B Tree Tsunami” project, launched in 2018.
Raza Khan, president of the All Pakistan Beekeepers Trade and Exporters Association, said Pakistan is producing hundred percent organic honey through modern bee farming, and demand was increasing, particularly in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait.
“Our honey is unique in the world for its natural taste, color and texture,” Raza Khan said. “Therefore, its demand abroad is growing fast,” he added, urging the government to provide more incentives to boost the business and grant industry status to commercial beekeeping.
“The government should strengthen certification and quality standards of the honey so that we can also export it to the European market,” Khan said.
For now, bee farming is gaining traction among unskilled laborers, students and growers in remote areas of the country because it requires minimal capital and skill.
Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the “Billion Tree Honey Initiative” in December last year with the aim of increasing honey production to 70,000 metric tons in a year. The government estimates the project will help generate around 43 billion rupees ($268 million) for the national economy and provide about 87,000 green jobs. Under the program, the government has pledged to increase the plantation of specific trees and flora to improve the quality and production of honey, as well as grant interest-free loans to traders.
