Today, bee-keepers claim, there are over 300,000 bee colonies in the country.
There is no dearth of nectar and pollen resources. Vast areas of nectar and pollen producing plants in the valleys and plains in different parts of Pakistan from the foot off Himalayas to the shores of southern Sindh and Balochistan combined with diverse and favourable climate, make excellent conditions for bee-keeping.
In Pakistan, migratory beekeeping is almost exclusively based on Apis meliferra. This has resulted in quite rich harvests. On an average, bee-keepers get about 50 kg honey per colony in a year. Pakistan’s sidder variety honey is one off the finest honey varieties in the world.
It is low in carbohydrates. It does not granulate. It requires little heat during straining process. Under certain circumstances, sidder variety has proved useful even for diabetic patients. It is, naturally, more expensive than all other varieties available in Pakistan.
It is harvested in October. Berri plants, very rich in nectar and responsible for sidder variety, are grown wild in Kohat, Chakwal, Tala Gang, Mianwali, Bannu, Nizampur and Dhadhra etc.
Export of honey jumped from a little less than $1 million in 2000-01 to $3.27 million in the first ten months of 2005-06, indicating an increase of about 248 per cent. We export honey to over thirty countries in the world. Saudi Arabia and Dubai are principal buyers. Other important importers include Abu Dhabi, India, the USA and Yemen.
Some suggestions are made here for action to promote Apica Hore and export of honey and hive products.
(i) Pakistan should place a ban on import of such honey, MHF value off which is more than 40 mg per one kilogram, as honey with MHF above that level is merely a sweetner. There is no element of ‘shifa’ in it.
(ii) beekeeping has proved to be environmentally sound and income generating activity. It has established itself as a viable and profitable industry. The venture could be started even with small investment.
To attract young blood towards this promising field, 3-year Diploma in Apiculture Science may be started in Agriculture Universities of Tando Jam, Faisalabad, Quetta and Peshawar to impart practical knowledge about bee-keeping, bee- biology, honey processing, packing and marketing. Minimum qualification for entry in this course may be matriculation.
(iii) The importance of crop pollination by honey-bees is grossly under-estimated in Pakistan. Zamindars are not fully aware that the economic value of pollination is many times that of hive products. Awareness campaigns may be launched to make it known to the farmers that crop pollination by means of honey-bees helps uniform and early fruit set, larger size of the individual fruit and increased per acre yield.
(iv) To further develop floristic diversity beneficial to honey-bees, nectar and pollen rich ornamental plants may be planted along all major highways, railway tracks and the banks of rivers and canals to ensure regular supply of bee food round the year.
(v) Qualified bee-keepers and honey processors may be sent to countries like New Zealand, Australia, Yemen, Brazil and Germany for learning modern skills and techniques of beekeeping and latest methods of honey processing and packing.
(vi) To constantly keep bee-keepers and honey processors abreast of developments taking place in the honey sector here and abroad, a quarterly journal ‘Bee-bulletin’ may be brought out on regular basis.
(vii) Last, but not the least, bee-keepers and honey processors in the country should join together to form an effective well coordinated National Association of Bee-keepers and Honey Processors to guard their common interest, take full benefit from incentives offered by the government and activity liaison with international organizations concerned with the bee world.