Thursday, November 8 2018 12:11

ArmInfo. From year to year the number of producers of high- quality honey increases in Armenia, at the same time the sales volumes increase. The beekeeper from the  village of Zovq of Kotayk region Smbat Arakelyan told this in an  interview with ArmInfo on the margins of the exhibition ArmProdExpo,  who has been producing honey for 10 years. He noted that this is  connected, first of all, with the increase in demand, there are more  and more consumers who prefer exclusively pure ecological honey.

S. Arakelyan's apiary consists of 150 hives, and the honey produced  has recently been certified. However, the businessman does not plan  to export honey yet. "Today we are working on the domestic market,  and we are happy to provide our people with a quality product. And in  terms of volumes, we still do not satisfy the requirements of  European partners, "he said. According to Arakelyan, the total volume  of honey produced by domestic beekeepers is insufficient even for one  average European city. "We tried to export honey. But they demand  about 200 tons of honey from us, whereas the annual production of our  apiary does not exceed even 1 ton, "he said.

However, the beekeeper explained that the matter is not in  quantitative indicators, in particular, the tonnage, which experts so  often talk about, but in the fact that there are not enough  beekeepers in the Armenian market producing honey in accordance with  European standards and requirements. "If all manufacturers had a  principled approach and conscientiously carried out their work, then  the problem of export supplies would be solved. But in general, I  believe, the problem can be overcome in a few years, since there are  all the prerequisites for this, "he concluded.

To note, according to the RA Customs Service, in 2017, Armenia  exported 55.4 tons of honey, which is 5 times more than a year ago.  The customs value of honey increased over the year 4-fold to $ 355  thousand.  Honey imports, on the contrary, decreased by 14.9% to13.7  tons during the reporting period with an increase in the customs  value by 78.6% to $ 71.1 ths.