Kazakhstan can export up to 1,000 tonnes of honey annually without harm to the country’s food security. Now the domestic product is purchased by China, the United Arab Emirates and even Cyprus. As heads of beekeeping farms of the country said, it is necessary to revise the subsidy rules to fully develop the industry. According to them, compensation for the costs of already manufactured products can become an effective state support. To date, Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture reimburses only the costs of purchasing bee families, which are, in fact, the raw materials for the development of the industry.
“I believe that it is the efficient production of the apiary, not the bee colony, but the apiary that needs to be subsidized. Yes, the queen bee can be highly productive, but the apiary might not give the results that it should,” said Vladimir Gailamazyan, Head of Agriculture Department of East Kazakhstan Region.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
