India's honey major plans joint venture to cut competition

Monday, 08 March 2004, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: India's largest honey exporter has decided to join hands with emerging competitors in Europe to safeguard its market share in that continent. Among countries slated to join the European Union in May are Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic which will find ready markets for their surplus honey in Europe's largest trading bloc. Once they become EU members, their products are bound to get preference over imports from other countries, thereby posing competition for exports from India, feels N.M. Kejriwal, chairman of Kejriwal Enterprises and National Bee Board. "Together these four countries produce 40,000 tonnes of honey, equivalent to what is produced in India. Once they become EU members, their honey would find greater preference in European countries," said Kejriwal, whose company is the largest Indian honey exporter. "We don't want to lose the EU market. Keeping in view the long-term interest, we have given them a proposal for joint venture, under which we have offered to supply honey for blending and export to the European countries like Germany, one of the biggest markets," Kejriwal told IANS. Unlike in India, where honey is used mostly for medicinal purposes, in Europe it is part of the daily diet and widely used in confectionary. Currently, Germany imports honey from 62 countries and blends it to cater to different tastes and uses. Some Indian varieties like mustard honey, a creamy variety, are in good demand in Europe for its tangy taste. The four countries being approached for joint venture have around 3,000-4,000 tonnes of surplus honey each, whereas Indian exporters are facing a short supply despite the rich potential within the country to boost production. Honey production being mostly in the unorganised sector, collection for exports is not only difficult but at times also uneconomical. India's domestic consumption of honey is very high -- over 25,000 tonnes. "We are hoping to enter into joint ventures soon with at least one or two of the European countries," said Kejriwal. Due to an increase in honey production last year, Indian exporters hope to end the 2003-04 fiscal with a 30 percent growth valued at 1.3 billion. Kejriwal's share of the total 13,000 tonnes exports is around 7,800 tonnes. In 2004-05, the outlook is not so optimistic with prolonged rains and cold spell in the north having spoilt the production prospects. The result is that honey traders are banking on the production remaining at current year's level. Despite the National Bee Board offering training and all facilities to the farmers, particularly in India's northeast, the response has not been good, said Kejriwal. He is now planning to step up his own efforts to boost production and become a major beekeeper. "We hope to become a major honey producer ourselves. Currently we have 1,000 bee boxes. We hope to raise it to 5,000 boxes. The largest single beekeeper in the country has 8,000 boxes in Punjab," said Kejriwal, whose company is setting up a 200 million unit near Patiala to produce honey by-products like royal jelly and bees wax. He said honey production could be a major income enhancer for farmers and employment generator as the investor can get good returns within the first three months.
Source: IANS