Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the once traditional fair of honey will take place in Baku. The fair will start work on October 20 and will last until November 7. About this Haqqin.az reported Chairman of the Audit Commission of the Azerbaijan Association of Beekeepers Shahin Jafarley.
According to him, the fair will be organized by the joint efforts of the Association and the Ministry of Agriculture. It will take part in more than 250 beekeepers, which are allowed to bring to Baku to 400 kg of honey.
“Fair work will control the Food Safety Agency. It is expected that about 100 tons of honey will be extended for sale,” he said.
By providing short information about the expected fair, Shahid Jafarley touched the problems with which the manufacturers of honey in Azerbaijan have recently.
According to him, over the past year, the expenses of Azerbaijani beekeepers increased significantly. So a cubic meter of wood, which is used for the manufacture of hives rose from 270 to 400 manat. At the same time, the medicines for bees rose from 15 to 30 manat. In addition, transportation costs have significantly increased.
Shahin Jafarley at the same time notes that the increase in honey prices is not expected due to the low purchasing power of the population.
“During the pandemic, many jobs were closed and people had a purchasing power. Therefore, the beekens are experiencing problems with the implementation of their goods. Honey kilograms now costs 20-30 manat. We also propose to introduce restrictions on the import of low-quality cheap honey from neighboring countries. Why bring so many honey to the country, if we produce it yourself? “He said.
The expert added that this year many beekeeping farms were encountered with mass extinction of bee families.
“A lot of bees died. In summer, the air temperature exceeded 42 degrees, there were also many birds that feed on bees. There are beekeepers that have lost 90% of their bees. Therefore, the production of honey this year has fallen sharply,” he said.
Note that in 2018, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree “On stimulating the development of beekeeping in Azerbaijan”. According to this order, farmers receive subsidies for each bee family.