Kerala - Kozhikode   

Honey buyers, sellers meet

KOZHIKODE: The buyer-seller meet organised by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) here on Tuesday for the Kozhikode bee-keeping cluster assumes significance as the honey collection (honey harvest) period is already on.

Most of the apiculturists who took part were members of the Kozhikode bee-keeping cluster launched by the Kozhikode Sarvodaya Sangh with an aid of Rs.1 crore, under the Scheme of Fund for Rejuvenation of Traditional Industries (SFURTI).

The KVIC is the nodal agency and the Central Bee Research and Training Institute, Pune, of KVIC, provides technical assistance.

Organisations under the Sarvodaya Sangh, KVIC and Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala were among the buyers who attended the meet.

SFURTI nodal officer K.G. Baburaj said the aim of the five-year project was to have honey or value-added products from honey under a common brand.

Nearly 600 apiculturists or families form a cluster. The project aims at providing modern technology and new equipment to apiculturists. The project is in its second year, he said.

A common facility centre, where a honey processing unit is being planned, will come up at Kalarikandi, near Pathiripatta in the district. Value-added projects like jellies, jams etc would be developed, the nodal officer said.

An average man in the West consumes 15 kg of honey in a year whereas it is 15 gm in India. There is a need to increase consumption, Mr. Baburaj added.

Kozhikode Mayor M. Bhaskaran inaugurated the meet. Deputy Collector K.P. Remadevi presided over the meet. K.C. Kozhikode Sarvodaya Sangh secretary Balan and Horticorp managing director K.G. Ravindranath spoke.

A meeting was held to fix the price of honey for units under the KVIC collecting raw honey, for 2009.

KVIC State Director K. Mohan Raju said the price of honey collected by units for 2009 had been fixed at Rs.62 per kg. It was Rs.55 per kg last year.

The price of processed honey sold through the units would be Rs.165 per kg. It was Rs.144 per kg last year, he said.

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