Karabakh apiaries - key driver of beekeeping development in Azerbaijan Khazar Akhundov's review

In spite of the negative aspects of the last three years - the pandemic and food crisis - Azerbaijani apiculture keeps stable dynamics of development. The transfer of tens of thousands of bee families to highland areas of Azerbaijan, which were liberated from occupation, has become a driver of the industry's growth. However, beekeepers need to address low productivity, as well as overcome the pressure of imported inflation. There is also a lot of work to be done to expand the geography of honey exports, which was reduced during the pandemic. New industry perspectives were presented at the 22nd Republican Beekeeping Fair, which opened in Baku last Sunday.

For the second year in a row, farmers from the East Zangazur and Karabakh economic zones are presenting their products at the fair of beekeeping products, located near the Ganjlik metro station in the Narimanov district of Baku. This year's fair, which has already become traditional, is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Beekeepers Association and hosts around 250 beekeepers to sell 120 tons of honey and other specialized products.

In the meantime, products from apiaries of Kalbajar, Lachin, and other regions of Karabakh, where beekeeping farms were transferred in spring 2021, were presented here. Already by the middle of last year, 4,068 bee hives were transferred to the region. This year, this activity has been intensified, and the resettlement process is carried out by a single regulation, agreed upon by the relevant authorities. Particularly, according to the regulation, the farmers registered in the Electronic Agricultural Information System (EKTIS) and having at least 40 bee families in their holdings are transferred to the liberated territories (landmine-free safe areas). According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this year about 1,100 farmer beekeepers applied and more than 61,000 bee families were relocated to the mountain meadows and forest lands of the East Zangazur and Karabakh economic regions from the spring season to July 2022.

The effect of the steps taken over two years has surpassed all expectations. Thus, in the apiaries of Kalbajar alone, the average yield per hive was 50-53 kilograms of honey, which is more than twice as much as the national average. The productivity of apiaries in other districts, liberated from the occupation, was noticeably higher than the country's average. Further development of this trend promises a sharp increase in honey production thanks to the improvement of the fodder base. The Lesser Caucasus region, with its mountainous grasses and the highest nectar productivity of honey plants, is ideal for the location of apiaries, and the absence of industry and harmful enterprises here, as well as the non-use of agrochemicals, increases the productivity of bees and reduces the risk of their death. The local honey is not only ecologically pure but also possesses unique gustatory qualities and medicinal properties. In general, Azerbaijani honey has repeatedly been awarded for its taste and purity. As recently as in August 2022, at Istanbul's 47th congress of the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations (APIMONDIA), which was attended by 161 organizations from 44 countries, Azerbaijani beekeepers were awarded the third place for product quality. It should be noted that Azerbaijani honey, produced in the mountains of the Lesser Caucasus, was also presented at the exhibition, held at APIMONDIA Congress.

Obviously, such high qualitative characteristics of Karabakh honey not only allow it to occupy a leading position in the domestic market but also facilitate the expansion of export of this valuable product. Recently talks have been underway to export Karabakh honey under the common brand to neighboring countries, Asian and Middle East countries, and in the future probably to European Union as well.

Such initiatives are extremely important, and this is confirmed by the positive experience gained in the years preceding the 2017-2019 pandemic when Azerbaijani honey exporters achieved very good results. After the devaluation of the manat in 2015, the 'currency' price of a kilo of Azerbaijani honey decreased by more than two times, and, accordingly, its competitiveness in foreign markets increased. Significant amounts of honey were also sold through Azerbaijani hotels and other recreational facilities during the tourist boom of recent years, and to meet this demand, honey was packaged in small portions and branded with the logos of hotel chains. Thus, the domestic tourism sector has become an additional export channel for honey exported by foreign tourists from Azerbaijan as a "sweet" souvenir.

However, the main efforts in promoting the export of honey and other bee products were made by Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and Trade Houses, which helped honey suppliers to participate in specialized exhibitions and trade missions, providing promotion of domestic products in the markets of post-Soviet countries and in non-CIS countries. For example, during this period, honey was exported mainly to the UAE and Japan, with trial shipments sent to Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, and more recently to Iraq, Libya, and Egypt. The advertising and promotion of domestic beekeeping products are also actively promoted through Azerbaijan Trade Houses in the Baltic States, Poland, China, and Russia under the common brand name Made in Azerbaijan.

Alas, the booming industry was dealt a significant blow during the pandemic crisis of 2020 and the first half of 2021: export orders fell sharply, and the suspension of the tourism sector and quarantine restrictions on restaurants deprived beekeepers of a significant portion of domestic demand.

However, over the past year, the republic has been taking active steps to overcome the consequences of the crisis of two years ago, and the most important factor here is the expansion of the Karabakh region's apiary land to increase output and reduce production costs through higher yields. This is extremely important, given that in the recent past the low productivity of Azerbaijani apiaries has increased production costs and, in effect, reduced the competitive advantage of Azerbaijani honey in external markets. For instance, in previous years, each family on Azerbaijan apiaries produced 8-10 kg of honey, and only several years ago this indicator has improved - the average productivity is now around 15-20 kg per hive. Nevertheless, the productivity growth is still not high enough. For comparison, the world average is 30 kilograms of honey per hive, but for example, in Germany and other leading countries in this industry, this figure exceeds 50 kilograms.

And for the first time, approximate results (about 50 kg per hive) were achieved in the apiaries of Kalbajar and Lachin, which gives reason to hope for an increase in the profitability of the industry. As a matter of fact, this process is already on the rise. Thus, in the spring-summer season of 2022, 7 thousand tons of honey were pumped out in Azerbaijan: for comparison, in 2021 this figure was 6,802 tons, and in 2020 - 6,647 tons of honey. In general, according to the State Statistics Committee, over the 13 years since the adoption of the law "On Beekeeping in Azerbaijan", the number of bee colonies in Azerbaijan has increased 4.4 times, reaching 625.3 thousand in 2021, and the number of beekeeping farms in the republic has exceeded 33.3 thousand.

According to experts, Azerbaijan's domestic demand is estimated at six thousand tons per year; accordingly, additional amounts of honey can be exported. At the same time, an increase in honey production and growth of bee families contributes to the increase of supply in the local retail market, and to a certain extent the factor of global inflation, which has inflated food prices in Azerbaijan, is levelled out.

"A certain increase in honey prices in Azerbaijan is linked to inflationary processes and price increases in the global market. At the same time, prices for Azerbaijani products have grown in general insignificantly: if last year 1 kg of local honey cost on average 25 manats, this year the price rose to 30 manats," Badraddin Hasratov, chairman of the Association of Beekeepers of Azerbaijan, said recently. According to him, the main reason for the rise in prices is linked to the global price hike of imported materials, tools, veterinary drugs, and other components used in beekeeping, mainly from Türkiye and Russia.

In order to overcome these problems, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Association of Beekeepers have strengthened international cooperation in recent years through a number of programmes implemented jointly with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to improve the gene pool of local bees, solve problems with packaging, international certification and increase the export potential of Azerbaijani honey. Technical assistance was also provided to Azerbaijani beekeepers through the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).