TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, over 2,600 tons of honey is annually produced in Bushehr province, in the southwest of Iran.

Afshin Qotbi, the deputy head of the province’s Agriculture Department for improving livestock products, said 2,000 beekeepers are currently working to produce honey in Bushehr province. 

This province has good conditions for the presence and activity of beekeepers, and beekeepers migrate to Bushehr at different stages, the official underlined.

More than 350,000 colonies have been established in Bushehr province, which is expected to reach 400,000 colonies, he announced.

The recent rains have provided a good opportunity for beekeeping activities in the province, Qotbi further stated, adding that the extreme cold weather in other provinces has stopped beekeeping activities in those areas, while the weather of Bushehr province has provided a good opportunity for beekeeping.

Back in late August 2022, the director of the Agriculture Ministry’s beekeeping development program said the country’s annual honey production is expected to reach 115,000 tons in the current Iranian calendar year 1401 (ends on March 20, 2023).

According to Touraj Saremi, the government has paid over 145 billion rials (over $382,000) of facilities to the country’s beekeepers since August 2021 when the government took office.

Saremi noted that Agriculture Ministry has defined a five-year development plan to reform the structure of the country's apiaries and increase the quantity and quality of honey production during the Iranian calendar year 1401 to 1405 (begins in March 2026).

“The implementation of this program requires the necessary support for providing inputs, implementing educational-training programs, and providing facilities to beekeepers. It is also required to provide apiaries with insurance coverage to reduce the risks and to ensure sustainable production,” he said.

The official noted that the ministry is also pursuing opening a credit line to be able to meet part of the needs of producers in this sector within the framework of rules and regulations. 

As IRNA reported, Iranian beekeepers managed to produce 112,000 tons of honey in the previous Iranian calendar year.

Due to the high quality of Iranian honey, the product is exported to many countries including China, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq, and Lebanon.

Back in March 2020, the former director of the Agriculture Ministry’s beekeeping development plan had said the country's beekeeping industry was planned to become the leading agricultural sector in the country, the leading honey producer in the region, and a strong player in the world markets.

“Benefiting from up-to-date knowledge, and technology, the industry is going to provide reliable, high-quality products with greater value-added,” Farhad Moshir Qafari said.

Over the past five years, Iran’s beekeeping industry shifted its focus from producing only one main product, namely honey, to producing other bee secretions such as royal jelly and bee venom, Qafari said.

“Melittin is a very valuable bee venom extract that is currently imported, but the beekeeping industry has the potential to produce this substance inside,” he stressed.

MA/MA