TEHRAN- More than 2,800 tons of honey is produced in Sarab county, in the northwestern East Azarbaijan province, per year, according to the governor of the county.

Ali Jahani said that with 65,000 beehives, this county ranks first in the province in the number of bee colonies, and ranks second in honey production.

He named Iraq, Russia, Malaysia, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan as some export destinations of the county’s honey.

Based on the data recently released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Iran is the third-largest producer of honey in the world.

According to the chairman of the Animal Science Research Institute of Iran (ASRI), the county also ranks third in the world in the number of apiaries.

Mokhtar Mohajer has said that Iran's rank in honey production is changing and moving between the fourth and sixth place in the world.

Iranian beekeepers managed to produce 112,000 tons of honey in the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20, 2022).

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.

MA/MA