KABUL, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The industry for beekeeping has been on the rise in Afghanistan's northern Badakhshan province as honey production in the relatively peaceful province has reached to 283 tons, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock said.
According to the weekly Dehqan which means farmer in local language, more than 590 large and small-scale honey farms have been producing honey in Badakhshan province.
Appreciating the booming beekeeping industry in Badakhshan province, Moenudin Aini, the provincial head of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, told the paper that the suitable climate situation, the existence of flowers and awareness of most apiculturists are the factors behind the 60 percent increase in honey production in the province.
Badakhshan provides honey to local market and neighboring provinces at a price from 450 afghani (5.8 U.S. dollars) per kilogram to 1,200 afghani (15.5 U.S. dollars) per kilogram depending on its quality, the paper added.
Although there is no official statistics on the annual honey production in Afghanistan, the Ministry for Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock recently reported that the country had the capacity of producing up to 11,000 tons of honey annually.
More than 214,000 bee boxes are currently put out for collecting honey in 32 out of the country's 34 provinces, according to the ministry.
