Honey is being harvested from the apiaries throughout Kyrgyzstan. The season will last until the end of August, MIR 24 reports.
The Republic produces over 2,000 tonnes of honey annually. Of them, 500 tonnes are exported. Mostly, honey is exported to China, Korea, Japan, the states of the Persian Gulf and the United States. In foreign countries, Kyrgyz honey stands in the premium segment due to its high quality and variety of flavours that it owes to the variety of herbs and flowers growing in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Domestic honey production is not limited to 2,000 tonnes per year: economists believe that it can be increased by almost 16 times.
The average retail price of honey is about 450 rubbles per litre, but it is more profitable for beekeepers to sell products to exporting companies, since they can sell it in large batches.
When beekeepers have finished harvesting, they will start preparing bees for winter. Beekeepers said this year they were lucky with the weather: the summer was warm.
Honey prices vary in the CIS countries. For example, Azerbaijani honey is most expensive: about 1,500 rubbles per kilogramme. Flavours also differ; honey harvested in the mountains has the most peculiar flavour.
