SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- 90% of the production of Honey Cuban is destined for export, according to the official newspaper on Thursday Granmaofficial organ of the Communist Party.
In the midst of a dire food crisis, the Cuban regime claims that honey is among the eight lines of the Comprehensive Strategy for Exports of Goods and Services for the period 2019-2030, according to the observatory of the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment.
Beekeepers in Granma, the second largest producing territory after Matanzas, registered a historic record for a month this year, with 220 tons In March, 36 more than the amount collected in the same period in 2018. Similarly, by mid-year, they had exceeded 500 and hope to reach 1,100 before the end of 2024.
Not far behind are producers from Matanzas, Santiago and Camagüey, who hope to meet the forecast for the second peak of production in the year, from October to December, despite the shortage of inputs and fuel that affects other sectors.
According to data from the National Statistics Office, reported by Granma, In 2022, the country collected about 9,200 tons of honey, a volume slightly lower than the previous year.
Germany, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Belgium are the “potential destinations for Cuban honey.”
According to Granma, More than 90% of Cuban beehives belong to private beekeepers, linked to cooperatives, many of them with 100 or more beehives and yields exceeding 45 kilograms.
Honey exports guarantee the entry of foreign currency into the regime, since last year alone, the production price of a metric ton of natural honey was valued at more than 12,000 dollars in some countries.
A few years ago it became known that the island’s authorities were selling honey on the international market for more than 25 times the price they bought it for from local producers.
One farmer interviewed then confessed that they had paid 14,000 CUP for a ton of honey when the price on the world market fluctuated around 4,000 and rose to 12,000 in some countries.
Beekeepers are required to meet annual production plans, based on the number of hives they have. This honey is collected by entities of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Honey and its derivatives are one of our country’s exportable products with a traditional market in Europe. International prices are high.
