National Honey Expo begins

Agriculture Minister Tek Bahadur Thapa inaugurated the First National Honey Expo 2070 here today.
Organised by Nepal Central Honey Entrepreneurs’ Association in association with Directorate of Commercial Pest Development, the four-day exhibition aims at disseminating information on Nepali honey to promote the product that has huge potential.

Though, Nepal has a capacity to produce 10,000 tonnes of honey every year from one million beehives, the honey has not been able to see its export due to certification hurdles and quality assurance.

The minister, on the occasion, promised to promote honey in coordination with the private sector.
The expo has some 33 stalls showcasing a wide variety of local honey – one of the key export potential product under Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) 2010 – that has not been exploited.
Nepal exported honey worth Rs 1.89 million in fiscal year 2011-12 but there was negligible export in the last fiscal year, according to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) statistics.
Amid declining export of honey, the expo aims at creating awareness to promote commercialisation of the sector, president of the association Dharma Raj Shrestha claimed.

The government is planning to spend eight million euros – that the European Union has pledged for NTIS products – to promote honey, informed joint-secretary at Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Toya Narayan Gyawali.

Nepal produces variety of honey – from flowers of mustard, millet, chiuri, rudilo, jamun or the herbals found in the wild – that also has medicinal value.