If the local beekeeping industry is to make a more meaningful contribution to livelihoods and to the country’s economy as a whole, it is necessary that it receive a far more generous measure of support from government to help create infrastructure and to better position the sector to make a mark on both the local and external market, Treasurer of the Guyana Apiculture Society, Aubrey Roberts has told the Stabroek Business.
Over several decades the local beekeeping industry has been unable to make a meaningful impact on the local mainstream market or on the external market and Roberts endorsed the view that despite the fact that local honey was still in demand here limitations associated with product certification, packaging and labeling meant that the product had its limitations as far as market access is concerned. Director of the Government Analyst-Food & Drugs Department (GAFDD) Marlan Cole told Stabroek Business that some of the honey sold on the local market actually slips under the radar as far as meeting the regulations is concerned. He says that setting aside the product verification considerations there may well be concerns.
Local supermarkets have evinced a preference for imported brands of honey though street vendors offering frequently unlabeled honey have been able to hold their own with smaller outlets and with loyal customers.
