UP 'Nawab' honey headed for Europe

The "Nawab" brand of honey, produced in Uttar Pradesh, will soon be available in European Union countries as well as the domestic market.

The UP Co-operative Horticulture Federation will launch the Nawab brand of honey in the international market, mainly produced in Saharanpur. UP has the largest share of honey cultivators and bee hives in the country.

The best-known brand of honey sold in the Indian market is Dabur, besides other local brands marketed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and the khadi and village industries boards of various states.

The federation exported 300 tonnes of processed honey to EU countries in the last fiscal and it is likely to export 500 tonnes in the current fiscal valued at Rs 2 crore. Total honey production in UP during the current fiscal is estimated to be 3,500 tonnes.

The federation's role is confined to being a promoter and facilitator in honey cultivation. It has recently registered the "Nawab' brand of processed honey.

"We are in the process of launching the Nawab brand of honey in UP, which will be sold in all major towns of UP in Parag milk booths of the Pradesh Co-operative Dairy Federation (PCDF)," said R K Tomar, managing director of the federation.

He said the federation would soon sign a deal with the PCDF for the marketing of the honey. The federation had bought processed money for consumption in the domestic market, he added.

The UP State Agriculture Produce Marketing Board, in association with the federation, had successfully launched the "Nawab" brand of mangoes in the international market last year. The Dussheri mango of Lucknow, under the brand name "Nawab", fared well in China and Europe and this year 2,000 tonnes have been ordered.

The federation's entry into the honey business has proved to be a boon for the farmers of Saharanpur. It has not only helped in organising the honey market on modern lines, it is also extending technical know-how, providing bee hives and conducting training programmes for the farmers in bee keeping and honey extraction from the bee hives.

The federation is also promoting the growth of the required flora and fauna for honey cultivation. It has promoted the farming of peach, lichi and oilseeds in Saharanpur.

Besides this, the federation is helping the private entrepreneurs to set up honey-processing units in Saharanpur. Three units are producing processed honey in Saharanpur and two more units would be commissioned by the end of the current fiscal.

Saharanpur has been declared a "horticulture development zone" for honey. UP has set up nine horticulture development zones, for production and processing various fruits. The state has also set up two agriculture export zones for promoting the exports of processed mangoes and potatoes.