CLUSTER PROFILE

HONEY, KARAK

Turn Potential into Profit

Small & Medium Enterprise Development Authority
Ministry of Industries and Production,
Government of Pakistan
4th Floor, 3rd Building, Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex,
Egerton Road, Lahore
Tel: 92-42-111-111-456 Fax: 92-42-36304926-27
Website: http://www.smeda.org
Cluster Development Program

Table of Contents
1 Description of the Cluster ........................................................................................ 1
1.1 History and Background of the Cluster ................................................................ 1
1.2 Description of Products ........................................................................................ 1
1.2.1 Wild Honey Combs....................................................................................... 2
1.2.2 Raw Honey.................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Core Cluster Actors .............................................................................................. 3
1.3.1 Detail of Apiaries in Terms of Scale of Business ......................................... 3
1.3.2 Detail of Trading Units by Scale of Business ............................................... 4
1.3.3 Total Employment Generation ...................................................................... 4
1.3.4 Total Production............................................................................................ 5
1.4 Geographical Location ......................................................................................... 5
1.5 Current Cluster Scenario ...................................................................................... 5
2 Analysis of Business Operation ............................................................................... 6
2.1 Honey Value Chain of the District Karak ............................................................ 6
2.2 Production Process Flow of Commercial Apiaries .............................................. 6
2.3 Process Flow Honey Combs from Undomesticated Wild Bees ........................... 7
2.4 Raw Materials Availability .................................................................................. 8
2.5 Technology Status ................................................................................................ 8
2.6 Quality Assurance ................................................................................................ 8
2.7 Marketing and Sales ............................................................................................. 8
2.8 Financing .............................................................................................................. 8
2.9 Human Resources................................................................................................. 9
3 Institutional Setup..................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Entrepreneurs Associations .................................................................................. 9
3.2 Government & Semi-government Organizations ................................................. 9
4 SWOT Analysis ......................................................................................................... 9
4.1 Strengths ............................................................................................................... 9
4.2 Weaknesses ........................................................................................................ 10
4.3 Opportunities ...................................................................................................... 10
4.4 Threats ................................................................................................................ 10
5 Investment Opportunities ...................................................................................... 11
Cluster Development Program

1 Description of the Cluster

1.1 History and Background of the Cluster

The harvesting of honey is as old as written history with its consumption and reverence
conspicuous in the texts of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. In Spain, cave
paintings have been found depicting the process of ‘bee-keeping’ or apiculture (for the
purpose of harvesting honey) and are said to be around 7000 years old. Indeed, fossilized
remains of honeybees dating back some 150 million years confidently suggest that the
existence of honey is older than that of humanity itself.

The earliest record of keeping bees in hives for the purpose of honey production is
attributed to the Egyptians, originating nearly four and a half thousand years ago in
2400BC. Equally, the Greeks regarded honey just as important for humans, not only as a
significant source of nutrition, but for its pharmaceutical and medicinal qualities. Honey
played an important role in ancient Greek cooking and confectionery.

Demand and production of honey and beeswax increased with the onset and
establishment of the Christian faith that needed the wax for making church candles. Over
the following centuries, the demand for honey increased ever further, and the bee-keeping
industry flourished.

In KP/FATA, the Honey beekeeping was first started on commercial bases in 1982 by
UNICEF. They took keen interest and developed this business. With the passage of time
local people also got motivated in this sector and now there are about 80% Afghani and
20% Pakistani people engaged in honey business. Owing to the seasonal floral nectar
requirements, these Apiarists started movements within the promising areas of the AJK,
FATA, KP, and Punjab. Their visits to the district Karak can be traced back to the year
1995, mainly for the Bair (Jujube) Floral nectar. Today about 500 migratory honey bees
keepers place their honey bee colonies throughout the district Karak. Apart from these,
the bulk traders from Punjab also bring their honey to the district for selling to the local
exporters.

1.2 Description of Products

There are about 15 types of honey which are produced within the country but those which
are produced and used in a large number are Jujube (Beri), Calocacia (Palosa), Shautal,
Shwa (Sheesham), Orange (Malta), and Mustard (Sarso). The areas which can be best
exploited for the honeybee farming are Karak, Kohat, Bannu, Attock, Nowshera, Azad
Kashmir, Swat, Islamabad, Jhelum, Tallagang, Haripur, Kahota, Chakwal, Sahiwal,
Mundi Bahauddin, Bhalwal, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Multan and
1
Cluster Development Program

Kasur, North Waziristan Agency, South Waziristan Agency, Tank and D.I.Khan. The
Apart from these, the honey bee also works upon the Accacia, Mangroves, Olive, and
Sugarcan. The areas for these sources are Hyderabad, Badin, Mirpur Khas, Sajawal,
Saanghar, Tando Adam, Tando A. Yar, Nakka Kharri, Uthal, Bela, and the Coastal Belts
of Sind and Baluchistan. The products in the district Karak can broadly be classified as
the Honey Combs, and the Raw Honey.

1.2.1 Wild Honey Combs

Due to the existence of groves and abundance of honey nectar, the honey bees of types,
Apis Dorsata and Apis Malifera have been visiting the district. Initially, the honey
collectors from Punjab would visit the district and cut the wild honey combs on the
condition of 50% of the product to them as labor. Now some of the villagers have gained
expertise in the subject and they collect wild honey combs from trees in houses, groves,
and mountains. The honey combs from Apis Dorsata are sold to the wholesalers, who
extract the honey from them and sell them either in local or exports. As compared to this,
the combs from Apis Florea are brought to the Karak and Meetha Khel market by the
harvesters and sold to the local people or to the exporters. The exporters simply pack the
hives in containers covered by polythene sheets and export.

1.2.2 Raw Honey

The commercial apiaries visit Karak during Bair season and majority of them leave for
other destinations after the season’s end. As the Jujube (Bair) honey is readily accepted in
the Middle East without processing, so the honey from the district is all in raw form.
Other varieties of honey are mainly produced by the Apis Florea, Apis Dorsata, and Apis
Cerena in mountains, home trees, and groves. The sale of these varieties due to the
limited production, is not reported from the district.

2
Cluster Development Program

Nectar Source Honey Produced

This is also a floral honey collected by honey bees from the
Palosa (Local name) tree. Due to the lower selling prices
and small number of groves, fewer farmers visit the district
for this product.

Acacia Modesta/Palosa
The Abundance of Beri Trees within the district makes the
area to be the most attractive one for migratory honey bee
farmers. The Beri floral honey is one of the most expensive
one in Pakistan, and has huge exports to the Middle East.
The Honey Bee Keepers place their colonies in the district
during the last week of August and the First week of
Jujube (Beri) September. Their first production is known as the “First
Cut”, whereas the honey produced by the end of the
September is known as the “Third Cut” honey. The third cut
honey is regarded as superior quality than the first cut
honey.
Though this type of honey is also reported to have been
brought to the market for selling but due to its bitter taste it
could not gain market acceptance. However, it can be
introduced for baking and sausages purpose.

Lachi (Eucalyptus)
Few of the local apiarists stay at Karak for the production of
this type of honey.

Sarso (Mustard/Rapeseed)

1.3 Core Cluster Actors

1.3.1 Detail of Apiaries in Terms of Scale of Business

1.3.1.1 Small Scale Apiaries

3
Cluster Development Program

The small scale honey bee keepers have around 80 to 100 honey bee colonies with an
average investment of around Rs. 1.4 Million.

1.3.1.2 Medium Scale Apiaries

The Medium scale honey bee keepers have from 150 to 300 honey bee colonies. This
scale of honey farming required Rs. 1.5 Million to 3 Million investment.

1.3.2 Detail of Trading Units by Scale of Business

1.3.2.1 Small Scale Organizations

The local General Store and Grocery Stores selling honey as one of several other
products are considered as the small scale honey traders. Their focus remains on the
forest bair honey with an estimated turnover of about Rs. 0.2 Million to 0.5 Million per
year. The investment by this category is from Rs. 0.1 Million to Rs. 0.3 Million which is
mainly in the purchase of honey.

1.3.2.2 Medium Scale Organizations

The traders of the Medium scale are the middlemen from Punjab and the local retailers
having honey as the main product and peanuts as secondary product. The estimated
honey sales of this category are about Rs. 2.5 Million to 4 Million. The required initial
investment for this category is Rs. 1 Million to Rs. 2 Million.

1.3.2.3 Large Scale Organizations

Currently there are only two local wholesalers mainly supplying to the Afghani exporters
from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia. The estimated investment by them is about Rs. 280
Million.

1.3.3 Total Employment Generation

Business Number Average Total Employment

Employment
Apiaries 500 03 1,500
Honey Retailers 25 02 50
Wholesalers 02 05 10
Wild Honey Collectors 05 01 05
Total Employment in Cluster 1,565

4
Cluster Development Program

1.3.4 Total Production

The total production of Jujube Honey from commercial apiaries of the district is
estimated to be about 900 Tons per year. In addition to this, the estimated honey from
wild bees is around 10 Tons per year.

1.4 Geographical Location

Prominent areas for the existence of Bair of the district Karak include, Ali Khel, the
Bogara, Chokaara, Ghundi Mir Khan Khel, Isuq Chauntra, Meetha Khel, Sarat Khel,
Tarkha Khoi, Tor Mrich, Tukht Nusrati, Sabirabad, and Palosa Sir.

1.5 Current Cluster Scenario

The honey cluster is growing in terms of number of apiaries and hence the honey
production and exports. The Bair honey is supplied throughout the country but major
export market is the Middle East. Due to the concentration of apiaries in the Bair flora
season in the district, the honey from Punjab is also brought and sold to the exporters.
Road side honey kiosks on Indus Highway are also increasing in number.

The exploration of oil and gas within the district has resulted in the availability of gas for
the cooking purpose. This has reduced the deforestation of the Bair groves, but still there
are villages without gas, so the process could not be eliminated. In addition to this, the
cutting of trees for land fencing purpose and leaves for the ruminants’ feed poses a
danger to the Bair trees population.

The Jujube honey production from the district during the year 2015 was adversely
affected by the hailstorms during the flora season. The apiarists had to conclude the
season with low quantities of the first and second cut bair honey and only about 10 of
them were able to get the third cut honey in limited quantity.

5
Cluster Development Program

2 Analysis of Business Operation

2.1 Honey Value Chain of the District Karak

Need Need Need

• Capacity Building • S. S. Steel • New Markets,
• Proper Storage especially the EU,
Expellers
• Entomologist and USA
• Food Grade Canes
• Testing from PCSIR
Issues:
• Export market
Honey Production at Initial Processing and limited to middle
Wholesale
Apiary Packaging at Apiary east with the only
(Karak, marketed jujube
Issues: honey variety.
Issues: • Unhygienic manual de-
Tarnab) • Testing rarely done
• Honey Bee Predator capping and scratching. • Traceability of
wasps and bees •Simple manual extractors Farms
• Honey Bee diseases mounted on inferior
Transportation
• Unhygienic farm quality steel filters.
conditions and sever •Honey is stored in
weathers substandard cans
without any care about Need
being airtight. •Protection against
• Non Food Grade Cans extreme temperature

Need
• Capacity Building
• Food Grade Bottles Retail Transportation
• Testing Lab

Issues: Issues:
• Non food grade plastic bottles • No care about protection from
sunlight or chilling winds. During
extreme cold or heat the
temperature of honey keeps
fluctuating which results in quality
issues.

2.2 Production Process Flow of Commercial Apiaries

The production of these Apiaries is limited to the Jujube (Bair) honey in the district
Karak. Few of the local apiarists stay beyond this season for Mustard and Palosa. All of
the apiarists simply extract the honey through substandard expellers and then either filter
it through a fine cloth or in an inferior quality steel filter still using the cloth. There is no
processing facility within the district because of the ready acceptance of the Jujube honey
in the Middle East in raw form. The main reasons for using substandard expellers is that
due to the tent based infrastructure, the apiarist prefer to use the low cost expellers and
filters so that to minimize the risk of fixed assets’ theft.

6
Cluster Development Program

2.3 Process Flow Honey Combs from Undomesticated Wild Bees

7
Cluster Development Program

2.4 Raw Materials Availability

The honey production raw material is totally indigenous, i.e. the nectar from specific
flowers collected in groves of the district. The packaging material is purchased in bulk
from the markets of Peshawar and Lahore. Similarly, the honey bee medicines are also
easily available from the Tarnab Market of Peshawar.

2.5 Technology Status

The apiarists rely upon the conventional bee keeping, so the technology they use is
decades old and very simple. Honey is extracted manually through cold press and then
either filtered through a clean cloth or substandard steel sieves with cloth on it.

2.6 Quality Assurance

The absence of testing labs within the district makes the quality assurance to be a very
difficult task. This is the experience and expertise through which the honey buyers ensure
good quality honey.

2.7 Marketing and Sales

Product
Production Source Target Market Packaging Price/Kg (Rs.)
(Nectar Source)
Raw Honey
Bair A1 QualityCommercial Apiary Domestic High End Plastic and Glass Bottles 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 3,000
Exports Food Grade Cans (7, 9, & 30 Kg)
Bair A Quality Commercial Apiary Domestic High End Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 2,000
Bair Normal Quality Commercial Apiary Exports
Domestic 1,500
Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg
Palosa Honey Commercial Apiary Domestic Market Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 300-400
Ajwain/Spirkai Commercial Apiary Domestic Market Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 300-400
Laachi Honey Commercial Apiary Domestic Market Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 250
Karanda/Granada Commercial Apiary Domestic Market Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 600-700
Honey Combs
Bair (Bari Makhi) Wild Honey Bee Domestic High End Plastic Bottles of 1/2 Kg and 1 Kg 1,800-2,000
Steel Trays Covered by Transparent Polythene 2,500-3,000
Exports
Bair (Choti Makhi) Wild Honey Bee Sheets
Domestic High End Comb alongwith Twig 2,500-5,000

2.8 Financing

Normally the financing is the equity of the sole proprietor. The financing scheme offered
by the PM Youth business loan is the option for the investors, but the number of
beneficiaries did not appear in KP.

8
Cluster Development Program

2.9 Human Resources

Working at an apiary is a skill and the existing labor learnt it after some donor funded
projects and then started transferring it to others. Currently the academic trainings of
longer duration are absent. However, the efforts for short duration courses are done by
the livelihood projects of donors, one day training programs by the SMEDA, and Honey
Bee Keepers Associations.

On the retail side, the owners of the businesses rely upon their personal experience and
the limited exposure to formal training sessions.

3 Institutional Setup

3.1 Entrepreneurs Associations

The honey bee keepers of the province are well organized and registered under the “All
Pakistan Honey Bee Keepers and Traders Association”. As compared to them the
local traders are still to be registered with this organization.

3.2 Government & Semi-government Organizations

The honey bee keepers have to get the honey bee transportation from local authorities.
The SMEDA mainly acts as a facilitator and stimulating agent for the capacity building
through individual and group interactions. For honey quality testing, the PCSIR
laboratory is available on certain official fees. The export market access services of the
TDAP can also be considered by the investors.

4 SWOT Analysis

4.1 Strengths

Groves of Jujube spread throughout the district

Production of Export Quality Mono floral Jujube/Beri honey.
Large number of commercial apiarists visiting during the season.
Jujube honey recognized and demanded in the Middle East due to its quality.
Local honey traders situated on main Indus Highway ensuring high at point sales.
Geographic Location of the district Karak.
Recently, one of the local organizations has successfully started the Jujube honey
sales with glass packaging and proper labeling.

9
Cluster Development Program

The roadside Kiosks sell other Karak specific product of peanuts. The presence of
these two items often attracts the customers for one and then the buyers are
motivated to purchase the other item as well.

4.2 Weaknesses

Uneducated Apiary owners and awareness problem about the efficient farm
management techniques.
Use of poor quality expellers and sieves for filtration.
Post harvest handling adversely affects the honey quality.
Poor packaging and labeling. The use of non food grade plastic bottles results in
shorter shelf life and fermentation problems are also observed when stocked over
1 year period.
High bee feeding costs during off season due to the higher rates of sugar.
Local market finds it difficult to compete against the processed honey due to the
consumers’ awareness problem about honey.
Absence of honey testing trend, and mere reliance upon the experience based
checking of product quality.

4.3 Opportunities

Only Pakistan and Yemen are known to have the Jujube honey production.
The lucrative markets of the European Union are still not approached by the
Pakistani exporters.

4.4 Threats

The major threat is the climate change. The recent year 2015 observed severe
damage to the Jujube flora during the season and the honey production dropped
drastically.
The uncertain situation at Saudi Arabia with reference to Yemen may remain to
be a threat for exporters until this is converted into opportunity by increased brand
awareness about Pakistani product.
The predator birds, wasp and a killer bee (robber fly) killing the honey bees. In
terms of money, the loss to a bee keeper may range between Rs. 20,000-25,000/-
Absence of Entomologist resulting in the medication to honey bees without
efficient diagnosis.

10
Cluster Development Program

5 Investment Opportunities

Ø Investment in small scale unit of food grade cans and bottles production.
Ø Honey marketing backed by HACCP and standard machinery for honey
extraction and filtration.
Ø Exports to the Europe with strong brand image.
Ø Local investors to consider honey apiaries with backward investment in high
quality jujube varieties to start flowering for honey and fruits for sale after 5
years. Further, the areas with sufficient water can be utilized for the following
dual purpose crops.
Nectar Source Honey Production Potential
It is a perennial flowering plant produced as a forage
crop. In addition to this it can be a great source of
honey throughout the summer. Currently, the North
America is producing honey from its blue or purple
blossoms.

Alfalfa (Lucerne)
In Pakistan, this is grown as green fodder and the
apiarists keep visiting the areas with sufficient crops
during winter season.

Berseem (Egyptian Clover)

Apart from this, the Bhekar bearing areas can be utilized for honey production.
Nectar Source Honey Production Potential
The Bhekar plants exist in the Sabirabad, and
Shakardara regions but the commercial scale
honey production is not reported in the area. The
main reason is the preference of the commercial
apiaries movement to other districts of KP and the
Punjab.
Bhekar/Malabar Nut

Ø Establishment of Honey Trade Centre on the main Indus highway by bringing the
cluster under one roof. The model of International Honey Centre, GT Road,
Peshawar is an example. The ever increasing intercity and intracity traffic will be
the main advantage for early bird.

11