CHITWAN: With more than 30,000 beehives, Chitwan produces 800 metric tons of honey annually.
However, 500 metric tons of the produced honey remains unsold, with famers being forced to store them in their house.
“It’s time to harvest honey again. But farmers are worried because the previously harvested honey is not yet sold,” said Shiv Prasad Sharma Paudel, outgoing president of the Nepal Beekeepers Federation.
The government stopped the import of honey last May making it easier for beekeeping farmers, but farmers are likely to face problems as traders are working to get the ban lifted.
“If the honey produced in Nepal does not meet the market demand then it can be imported. But it is necessary to impose 60 percent customs duty on honey imported from outside the country,” Poudel said.
Meanwhile, with the help of the Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project, the honey produced in Chitwan has been branded to help boost sales.
The honey produced by Paudel, a beekeeper farmer of Kalika municipality, has been branded and brought to the market.
Poudel said he has started selling the honey he produced by branding the honey and is sold in honey shops in Kalika-6 market of East Chitwan.
Poudel produces six tons of honey annually. Since it has become difficult to sell honey, various efforts including its branding are being carried out to take advantage of the ban put by the government on honey imports at the moment.
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