'Unorganized supply chain affecting honey exports'

KATHMANDU, Nov 23: Experts and stakeholders on Friday lamented that Nepali honey has not been able to penetrate international markets despite having huge demand from Japan, Belgium, US and some European countries.



"Scattered production and unorganized supply chain, among others, are the major factors impeding Nepali honey exports,” Rajendra Singh of Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) said, presenting a paper on ´Trade Scenario of Nepali Honey´.[break]



Sharing the current situation of honey trade in domestic as well as international market in the national stakeholders´ participatory workshop on value chain, Singh said Nepali honey producers have not been able to get desired benefits from the international market.



The workshop focused on developing an action plan and implementation strategies to expand as well as diversify market, identifying the roles and responsibilities of all key stakeholders, among others.



"Value chain actors have major role to play in terms of market expansion," Prabhakar Pathak, joint secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD), said.



According to TEPC, USA, UK, Japan, France and Germany are the top markets for Nepali honey. "Honey import by these countries is growing by 14 percent every year," Singh said.



Beekeepers said the traditional technology and limited medicines and veterinary services were the major factors affecting honey production.

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