The National Bee Board hosted a workshop on "Strengthening of Export Potential of Honey" at Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management (VAMNICOM), Pune, Maharashtra, under the direction of Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (NBB).
During the workshop, Dr. Likhi introduced bee wax products created by FPOs. At VAMNICOM, Pune, it was also decided to launch a cooperative honey project. Future plans for promoting honey's export were also discussed by honey processors, exporters, and FPOs and Agri start-ups.
Dr. Likhi urged the National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) to mobilize small and marginal beekeeping farmers for remunerative income generation by involving all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)/Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Bee Societies, and organizations like NDDB, NAFED, & TRIFED.
Currently, the National Bee Board has 12,699 registered beekeepers, 19.34 lakh honey bee colonies, and India produces about 1,33,200 metric tonnes of honey (2021-22 2nd advance estimate). India, one of the world's top honey exporters, exported 74,413 MT of honey in 2021–2022 for a total of Rs. 1221.17 Crores. More than half of India's honey production is exported to other nations.
India exports honey to 83 different nations. The USA, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Canada, etc. are the main markets for Indian honey. Some of the most popular types of honey exported from India include mustard honey, eucalyptus honey, lychee honey, sunflower honey, pongamia honey, multi-flora Himalayan honey, acacia honey, and wild flora honey. 102 projects totaling Rs. 133.31 crores in assistance have been approved so far under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM).
Under the Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) Act, the government keeps an eye on the quality of goods exported from India through the Department of Commerce and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Department of Commerce developed the import, export, and trade-in food policies. APEDA provides financial support and a variety of incentives to companies that export agricultural foods like honey.
100 FPOs of Beekeepers/Honey Producers are allotted to TRIFED (14 nodes), NAFED (60 nodes), and NDDB (26 nodes) for the implementation of NBHM activities under the "Formation of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations" scheme.
Therefore, 77 FPOs of Beekeepers/Honey Producers have been registered or formed thus far out of the total 105 FPOs allotted to NBB. For the purpose of keeping track of the traceability of honey and other beehive products, the Ministry of Agriculture and FW has also created the "Madhukranti Portal," an online portal.
