• According to the commerce ministry, world honey export in 2020 stood at 7,36,266.02 MT. India ranks eighth and ninth in the world in honey producing and exporting countries respectively.

• China, Turkey, Canada, Argentina, Iran and the US are among the major honey-producing countries, accounting for 50 per cent of total world production.

• The Northeastern Region and Maharashtra are the key areas for natural honey production in the country. Around 50 per cent of the honey produced in India is consumed domestically and the rest is exported across the globe. 

• The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is working with the state governments, farmers and other stakeholders to boost exports of honey in countries such as the United Kingdom, European Union and Southeast Asia.

• India is also renegotiating the duty structure imposed by various countries for boosting honey exports.

• India started its first organised exports in the year 1996-97.

• Currently, India’s natural honey exports are majorly dependent on the US, which accounts for more than 80 per cent of the exports.

• India exported 59,999 metric tonnes (MT) of natural honey worth Rs 716 crore ($ 96.77 million) during 2020-21, with the US taking a major share at 44,881 MT.

• Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Canada were the other top destinations for Indian honey. 

• APEDA is also working with the exporters to deal with the challenges such as higher freight cost, limited availability of containers in peak honey export season, higher Nuclear Magnetic Resonance test costs and inadequate export incentives.

National Beekeeping and Honey Mission

• Following the call for a ‘Sweet Revolution’ by PM Narendra Modi in 2017, the government has been encouraging large numbers of farmers for production and marketing of honey and to earn more profit in agriculture.

• National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a central sector scheme for overall promotion and development of scientific beekeeping and production of quality honey and other beehive products. 

• It is implemented through the National Bee Board as a central sector scheme (100 per cent funded by central government). 

It has three Mini Missions:

1) Mini Mission-I: Under this Mission, thrust will be given on production and productivity improvement of various crops through pollination assisted by adoption of scientific beekeeping.

2) Mini Mission-II: This Mission will concentrate on post harvest management of beekeeping/ beehive products including collection, processing, storage, marketing, value addition, etc with a thrust to develop requisite infrastructural facilities for these activities.

3) Mini Mission-III: This Mission will concentrate on research & technology generation for different regions/states/agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions.

Objectives of NBHM: 

• Promoting holistic growth of the beekeeping industry for income and employment generation, providing livelihood support to farm and non-farm households and to enhance agriculture/ horticulture production.

• Developing additional infrastructural facilities for developing quality nucleus stock of honey bees, multiplication of stock by bee breeders, setting up of disease diagnostic labs, beekeeping equipment manufacturing units, post-harvest and marketing infrastructures including quality control labs individually as well as by setting up of Integrated Beekeeping Development Centres (IBDCs)/ Centres of Excellence (CoEs) on Beekeeping.

• To promote, develop and disseminate latest and state-of-the-art technologies and skill development in the beekeeping industry for production of honey and other high value beehive products.

• Empowerment of women through beekeeping. 

• To maximise, economic, ecological and social benefits by diversification through beekeeping by production of higher quantity and good quality honey and other high value beehive products, such as bee wax, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, comb honey, bee venom, etc for domestic and export market.

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