Farmers engaged in bee keeping are shifting to wheat and paddy following revision in the minimum support price of both these crops. This has impacted honey production in Punjab as processing units now have to procuring honey from other states to utilise their capacities.
According to rough estimates, Punjab produces 6,000 tonne honey a year and around 40,000 farmers are associated with bee-keeping including progressive farmers. Bee keeping is mainly done by small farmers who sell honey to supplement their income.
Speaking to Business Standard, Kashmir Apiaries Exports, vice-president (exports), AK Singh, said, “Farmers in Punjab are more interested in wheat and rice cultivation, as a result the area under oil seeds cultivation is going down due to which bee keeping is not done on massive scale, as compared with Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. In Himachal, the area under forest cover is too large, which gives ample opportunity for bee keepers. Similarly, in Rajasthan the area under oil seeds like sunflower and mustard is increasing.”
Kashmir Apiaries' unit has a processing capacity of 140 tonne per day in Punjab. Due to paucity of raw material, the company procures honey from other states and process it in Punjab. On the impact of global meltdown, he said, "There would be a slight reduction in the demand for organic honey but not for the normal honey." The company exports to 42 countries including the US and European Union. It plans to export 16,000 tonne honey this fiscal year, a growth of 20 per cent over last year.
Similarly, Kejriwal Group of companies, is able to utilise just 60 per cent of its total capacity due to this development. The company can process over 100 tonne honey daily. The processing unit was set up in 2002 in joint venture with Punjab Agro Industries Corporation.
“The company is associated with around 15,000 farmers in Punjab and around 200,000 farmers across India,” said chairman NM Kejriwal said. The company expects exports to decline due to global meltdown.
