Thousands of liters of honey from Nghe An farmers are still unsold despite low prices

With the advantage of 3,500 hectares of acacia hills, beekeeping is very developed in Nghia Binh commune (Tan Ky). Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Dam Van Phi in hamlet 4, Nghia Binh commune (Tan Ky) raises 60domestic bee colonyFrom March, he started harvesting honey and finished in May. The amount of honey collected was about 250 liters. In previous years, after harvesting, his family's honey would be sold to many markets, leaving only a few liters at home for use and as gifts for relatives. However, this year, it is almost the end of the year but his family has only sold a few dozen liters of honey.

There are currently about 200 liters of inventory in earthenware jars. Mr. Phi said: “Compared to previous years, this year, the price of honey is low, 150,000 VND/750 ml bottle, last year a 650 ml bottle was 200,000 VND. Although the price is low, consumption is very slow.”

Compared to previous years, the price of honey has dropped sharply from 400,000 VND/liter to only 270,000 - 300,000 VND/liter but it is still difficult to sell. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only Mr. Phi's family but also nearly 200 beekeeping households in Nghia Binh commune are in the same situation. Mr. Dam Van Nghi - Head of the Cooperative GroupbeekeepingNghia Binh commune said: “Currently, the largest household still has about 300 liters of honey, the smallest household has a few dozen liters. The whole commune currently has about 2,500 - 3,000 liters of honey that have not been consumed. Honey cannot be preserved for long, if left for a long time it will change color and reduce quality, so it must be sold out within the year, next year is the new honey extraction season. Therefore, people are struggling to find ways to consume the product.”

People have proactively posted honey products on personal Facebook pages, associations, and groups specializing in honey trading to promote and sell; consign them to kiosks and stores in the district and neighboring districts. However, consumption is extremely slow.

Currently, many families still have hundreds of liters of honey unsold. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Nghia Binh domestic honey has been recognized3 star OCOPprovincial level in 2020, is a type of domesticated wild honey, eating natural food. In a good honey season, with good prices, large households earn 100 - 150 million VND, small households earn tens of millions of VND.

This year, the weather is very sunny, there is a lot of rain, the forest trees are green, there are many flowers, the food source for bees is rich and abundant, so the honey is of good quality and high productivity. However, partly due to the Covid-19 epidemic, partly due to the hot weather, people have limited their use, so they cannot sell honey even though the price is low.

Beekeepers in Nghia Binh commune are now only waiting for the winter weather, when the demand for honey is high, or when Tet is near and many places will order it as gifts, then all the remaining honey will be sold.