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BEKİR KARACABEY: HONEY FORESTS PROVIDE 300 MILLION TL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY

With 60 new honey forests to be established this year by the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), it is aimed to contribute approximately 300 million TL annually to the country’s economy.

The General Directorate of Forestry (OGM), which implemented the idea of ​​”Honey Forest” in 2010 in order to support beekeeping, expand the production of organic honey and bee products and ensure food safety, has so far established 673 honey forests in 87 thousand 987 hectares of forest area. It is aimed to contribute approximately 300 million TL annually to the national economy with 60 new honey forests to be established this year.

‘APPROXIMATELY 150 THOUSAND HOUSEHOLDS PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INCOME THROUGH BEEKEEPING’

Forestry General Manager Bekir Karacabey stated that they carry out important studies for the bees, which are of vital importance in the protection of biological diversity and said, “The number of hives, which was 4.1 million in 2002 and the honey production, which was 74,500 tons, reached 8.1 million hives and 104 thousand tons in 2021. We aim to contribute 293 million TL annually to the country’s economy with a total of 733 honey forests by establishing 60 more in 2022.”

Bekir Karacabey

“Approximately 150 thousand households provide additional income through beekeeping. The annual average honey production in Turkiye is around 110 thousand tons. 80 thousand tons of this consists of flower honey and 30 thousand tons of pine honey produced from red pine forests with Basra,” Karacabey added.

“About 25 percent of honey production in Turkiye is obtained directly from forests in the form of pine honey. Taking into account forest trees such as chestnut, linden, acacia, rhododendron, pewpea and herbaceous plants and flowers in areas considered forests, 85 percent of the total honey production is obtained from forests and places considered forests,” Karacabey explained.

THE MOST HONEY FOREST IS IN MERSIN WITH 34…

“Today, there are 673 honey forests across Turkiye. Among them, Mersin province takes the lead with 34 honey forests, followed by Antalya with 23 honey forests, İzmir and Kütahya with 22 honey forests, respectively,” Karacabey concluded…

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