Azerbaijani honey may get organic certification
By Kamila Aliyeva
The Association of Beekeepers of Azerbaijan will send an appeal to the Agriculture Ministry, according to the president of the association Badraddin Khasratov, Report reported.
The goal is to obtain organic certification for Azerbaijani honey.
“The ministry should apply to the Cabinet of Ministers for this. After the receipt of the certificate of organic product, the entry of Azerbaijani honey to the world market will be simplified. However, this is a very complicated process. It is issued abroad. And the invitation of a specialist to Baku requires a lot of financial resources. If the state or the donor organization incurs a part of the costs, the process can be simplified,” he said.
In addition, according to Khasratov, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has prepared a package of proposals in connection with the amendment of the law “On Beekeeping.”
“One of them is to replace the wording ‘environmentally friendly product’ with ‘organic’ in accordance with the world practice,” he noted.
Honey, a healthy foodstuff which improves human nutrition and boosts immunity, has long tradition as a food source in Azerbaijan Beekeeping is developing in Azerbaijan and the industry almost doubled over the last eight years. The products of the beekeeping industry have a significant demand both inside of the country and abroad. The demand for honey in Azerbaijan is 4,500-5,000 tons, and about 3,000 tons is produced.
The Association of Beekeepers of Azerbaijan under Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) was created with an aim to assist beekeepers in the production process, coordinate the activities of entrepreneurs and ensure operational interaction with government agencies.
Earlier, Economy Ministry said that the development strategy of the industry is aimed primarily at a complete substitution of imports by domestic production, as well as a number of measures to increase the export of Azerbaijani honey.
There are more than 6,000 beekeepers in the country, which produced 3,000 tons of honey last year, while 2016 indicator equaled to 2,700 tons. Azerbaijan exported 6 tons of honey worth $48,000 to Japan in 2017, thus initiating the realization of this famous agricultural product abroad.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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