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Honey produced with the labour of Ordu beekeepers and tested in the honey packaging facility and analysis laboratory established within the Ordu Beekeeping Research Institute is exported to 55 countries of the world. Ordu Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Kemal Yılmaz said that 590 tonnes of honey was exported in 2024.
With 3 thousand 500 registered beekeepers and 650 thousand hives, approximately 10 thousand families in Ordu make a living from the beekeeping sector. Honey produced by Ordu’s migratory beekeepers in more than 50 provinces is exported to European countries, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and America. Since 2018, honey export figures in the city have been increasing every year, while approximately 13 tonnes of honey produced by itinerant beekeepers and packaged after being analysed in the facility was sent to England.
‘The contribution of only honey production to the province’s economy is 2.5 billion TL’
Ordu Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Kemal Yılmaz, referring to the importance of the beekeeping sector for the province, said that with the presence of about 650 thousand colonies, the highest honey production in Türkiye is made here. Stating that 13 thousand 100 tonnes of honey production was made in 2024, Yılmaz said, “It is a sector that contributes approximately 2.5 billion TL to the economy of the province with honey production alone. The beekeeping sector will contribute much more to the economy of the province with the production of other products besides honey. There has been a significant spike in our honey exports in recent years. Our honey export, which was 180 tonnes in 2019, has reached 590 tonnes by 2024. Thus, the contribution of the sector to the economy of our province is also surging. Our aim is to further enhance the contribution of the beekeeping sector to the economy of our province, we want our beekeepers to earn more and at the same time enhance the production of quality honey. In this way, our beekeepers will earn more with the sale of quality honey.”
‘As exports are made, our honey reaches the value it deserves’
Akın Çiftçi, Head of the Ordu Beekeepers Association, announced that shipments have been made abroad regularly since 2018 and that they sent the 2nd shipment of 2025 to England. Underlining that exports are important for the provincial economy and beekeepers, Çiftçi added, “As we export, our honey reaches the values it deserves. Our main goal here is to export at least 30 percent of the honey produced by our beekeepers. Hopefully, we will continue to export regularly. Today, approximately 13 tonnes of honey is exported and we will export to France in the future.”
