This year, for the first time, honey produced in Armenia was considered one of the best at the annual Apimondia (Melbourne, Australia) exposition.

Honey produced by Gurgen Hyusyan's company in the Armavir village of Lukashin won the silver and bronze medals.  The exposition was attended by 25 countries presenting 60 kinds of honey.

"Each kind of honey had its own name there," said the apiculturist, showing his prizes, "We decide to name ours 'Alpine Wildflower Honey'."  The name was not selected at random - at the beginning of each spring, the apiculturist carts his honeycombs, more than a thousand in number, to the Talin region.  That area is located at an altitude of 1,800-2,500 meters above sea level, where all the conditions of Alpine climate exist.

Apiculture started in the Hyusyan family with the grandfather, Mkrtich, then the father, Albert, who then passed on the business to Gurgen, who founded the company, MAG honey, in 2004.  He decided on that day that the honey must be packaged appropriately and sold in shops.  Today, 'Alpine Wildflower Honey' is sold in shops in Armavir and Yerevan and supplied to a few well-known hotels.

There are 1,100 families of bees in MAG's stock, of which 700 produce honey while the rest are queen bees.  The company produces 12-20 tons of honey annually, with the volume depending mainly on the weather.  MAG's product was recognized by EcoGlobe this year as the first "ecologically pure Armenian honey."

"There are many offers for partnership.  People from different countries have expressed an interest, asking how much honey I get and what kind of honey products I produce.  In 2002, I exported 4,000 kilograms of packaged honey to the USA.  However, we did not continue exporting, because honey is cheap on the international market and we could sell it at a higher price in Armenia.  This year, people from Germany wanted to place a monthly order of 20 tons of honey, but I had to refuse that partnership," said the apiculturist.

There were a number of reasons which forced the refusal.  Firstly, the price of honey on the international market is five times cheaper than in Armenia.  Besides that, no apicultural company in Armenia could supply the volumes of honey requested by the foreign partners.  Thirdly, Armenian companies at this point do not have the right to export their products to European countries.

"Apiculturists think, for no real reason, that their honey will sell on the international market for US $25-30 per kilogram.  The real price of honey on the international market is US $1.5-2 per kilogram. At the same time, the majority of apiculturists do not want to hear about using new technology, implementing modern curative or preventive measures.  Whenever we mention a novelty in the field, they say that they already know about it," said Jivan Aslanyan, board member of the Armenian National Federation of Apiculturists.

The other issue is that no apiculturist in Armenia can produce honey in volumes which would justify export.  There are no companies in Armenia which collect honey from different sources, which could possibly secure the required volume.

The third issue is that Europe has special requirements for companies that make and export agricultural products.  Those requirements are enough to fill a number of books.  Besides that, a laboratory recognised by Europe must operate in Armenia and inspect all the agricultural products exported to Europe from here, certifying those which meet the required standards.  No such laboratory exists in Armenia at this point.

"We know about the standards required for the laboratory - we have studied them and are working on the idea.  Within the next two years, there will be a laboratory recognized by Europe operating in Armenia. We have invited experts from Lithuania who are helping us with this and our own experts have undergone training courses.  But it is a separate issue that not all the agricultural companies in Armenia can meet the standards required by Europe for export today.  If there is even a single farmer who wants to export his goods, I can help him have his products inspected in a European laboratory in order for him to get an export permit, but nobody has come to me with such a request," said Hovhannes Hakobyan, director of the Republican Diagnostic Veterinary Center.

There is almost no export of honey in Armenia, or the volumes are negligible.  This year, honey has been exported only to Dubai, and only 80 kilograms at that.  Local apiculturists produce 1,500-2,000 tons of honey a year, which is enough for the domestic market.  Imports do not exceed two percent of the domestic demand.  In fact, imports of honey have dropped by 20-30 percent over the past few years. 

Russia and Germany are the main countries from where honey is imported to Armenia.  This information has been summarized in a report entitled The Honey Market in Armenia, which was published as part of a program supporting small and medium agricultural enterprises, by USAID (ASME).

The study also noted that in the 1990s, the number of bee families in Armenia had dropped by 60-70 percent.  A slow process of revival began in 1997.

In contrast with other agricultural products, honey is sold in Armenia in its own special way - almost all of the apiculturists in the country (around three thousand) have their own regular customers.  During sales, either the apiculturist approaches his customers, or the other way around.  Around 70 percent of apiculturists sell their honey this way.  Moreover, the products are sold without any certification, in plain glass jars.  Another 20 percent of the honey is sold through acquaintances, friends and family.  7-9 percent is supplied to shops and stores.  Another interesting fact is that the price of honey remains unchanged - 2,500-3,000 drams per kilogram.  The logic behind this is explained by apiculturists in the following way, "If I sell my honey cheaper, customers will think it is of bad quality."

According to the study The Honey Market in Armenia, an apiculturist makes a 60% profit if he sells each kilogram of honey for 5 US dollars.