SANA’A, Jan.09 (Saba)-The level of the domestic consumption of honey with its two kinds, the natural and commercial, has increased to more than YR 3 billion in 2008 with an average approximate to 8% from the annual consumption level of sugar-made materials in the country.
According to the latest official statistics, Yemen’s consumption of honey amounted to more than YR 3 billion, YR 2.4 billion of the natural kind and YR 700 million of the consumption of the commercial kind.
Honey trade witnesses a high demand as a result of the big concern from citizens towards buying and using it as medical treatment for many diseases, as well as including it as main component in different consumption and food usages.
Interested and observers of local markets noted that honey trade topped the sugar-made materials that are highly demanded as many traders directed their activities to export honey outside the country.
According to the Central Statistical Organization’s (CSO) family budge statistics, Yemeni families expend approximately YR 63, 7 billion on sugar- mad products, YR 51 billion on different kinds of sugar with honey records 6 percent of the total expenditure on sugar-made products.
The statistics indicated that the expenditure of the Yemeni families on honey has doubled and reached YR 3.7 billion. The rural regions registered the highest level of consumption for being its main producer.
The level of honey consumption in these rural regions is about YR 2,5 billion while the consumption of families living in urban regions reached to YR700 billion.
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation affirmed that Yemen’s production of honey amounted annually to 2,438,000 KG. It also made it clear that the production of honey in 2008 moves up in comparison to2007where it reached 2,409,000 KG.
The ministry expected that the level of annual production of honey during the current year will witness decrease as a result of the heavy rains hit Hadramout province in October 2008. This natural disaster washed away hundreds of thousands of beehives and wasted large amounts of honey.
A report issued by the department of statistics at the ministry illustrates that Hadramout, among Yemen’s other governorates, registering the first rank in producing Yemeni honey with its all different kinds particularly the most famous one, Al-Dwani honey.
The number of beehives in all Yemen governorates reaches 1,223,000 hives. The highest number of these hives exists in Hadramout governorate due to the availability of the suitable environment for bees.
The quantity of honey produced annually from Hadramout amounted to 800,000 KG from 325,000 beehives. Abyan governorate comes in the second rank after Hadramout of producing honey with 367,000 KG from 230,000 beehives, followed by Shabwa governorate with volume production reaches 315,000 KG producing from 166,000 hives. Finally, Hodeidah governorate ranks the fourth position with nearly 298,000 KG of honey produced from 119,000 hives.
