Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ibrahim Yumaklı announced that the Türkiye Beekeeping Map has been updated with data from 2023, stating: "The Türkiye Beekeeping Map now includes regions producing new geographical indication honey and breeding queen bees."

Yumaklı, in his written statement, conveyed that Türkiye possesses 75% of the world's honey plant flora due to its geographical location and biodiversity.

Pointing out that Türkiye ranks second in honey production globally, Yumaklı noted that 90% of pine honey production worldwide takes place in Türkiye.

Highlighting the implementation of numerous projects in the past 22 years to improve beekeeping and increase honey production, Yumaklı emphasized the significance of the Türkiye Beekeeping Map website, provided by the Livestock General Directorate under the ministry, as an important digital guide for producers.

Yumaklı also mentioned that the Türkiye Beekeeping Map, accessible through the "TarımCebimde" mobile application, contains various data and information related to beekeeping, including details such as the number of producers, hive counts, honey production, and honey yield per hive, all presented on a color-coded scale based on regions and provinces.

The map also includes information on honey varieties produced nationwide and their distribution by provinces, the most produced honey types in each province, geographically indicated certified honey, provinces producing breeding queen bees and their capacities, characteristics, and certifications of breeding queen bees, as well as provinces producing bumblebees and their capacities.

'Honey production increased'

Yumaklı announced the update of the Türkiye Beekeeping Map with 2023 data, stating that Türkiye, with 9.2 million beehives according to 2023 Turkish Statistical Institute data, produces 115,000 tons of honey annually, with an average yield of 12.5 kilograms (27.56 pounds) per hive.

Yumaklı highlighted that, due to the ministry's efforts, honey production increased by 54% to 115,000 tons in 2023 compared to the previous year, and the number of beehives rose by 122% to 9.2 million.

He said: "Muğla, Ordu, Adana, Mersin and Izmir are among our provinces with the highest number of hives. Ordu leads in yield per hive, followed by Adana, Çanakkale, Sivas and Kars. The highest honey production is in Ordu, Adana, Muğla, Sivas and Izmir. Muğla, Sivas, Antalya, Izmir and Ordu stand out with the highest number of beekeeping operations."

Yumaklı also pointed out an update in the Türkiye Beekeeping Map regarding the number of honey forests, mentioning that the number increased from 750 in 2022 to 796 in 2023, with a total capacity of 1,006,183 hives in 95,283 hectares of 796 honey forests nationwide.

Providing information on other updates in the map, Yumaklı stated: "With the update, provinces producing new geographical indication honey and breeding queen bees have been added to the Türkiye Beekeeping Map. While we have 29 registered honey varieties with geographical indications in our country, 27 more are in the application stage awaiting registration."

He continued: "Breeding queen bees are also produced in Ardahan, Ankara, Çorum, Artvin, Muğla, Ordu, Ankara, Izmir, Mersin and Düzce. We conduct all these efforts to acquaint producers engaged in beekeeping with the country's capacity, aiming to enhance productivity in honey and other bee products. In 2023, we provided TL 473,022,000 ($14.62 million) in support payments to 80,479 beekeepers. In this context, I hope that our updated Türkiye Beekeeping Map will guide our producers in every aspect and strengthen their production."