Trigona Bee Honey Needs Uniform Standard To Exploit Export Potential - Malaysian Minister

KEMAMAN (Terengganu, Malaysia), Nov 7 (Bernama) -- A uniform standard needs to be drawn up for the development of the trigona bee or stingless honey bee industry in Malaysia as well as exploit its export potential. Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said for trigona bee honey to be an exportable product, the development of such an uniform standard was compulsory, to avoid counterfeits. "Our ultimate goal is not just for trigona bee honey to be a product for use by people in the villages as a traditional remedy, but also one that can be marketed at the international level. "A team, involving various agencies, including the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), the Standards Department Malaysia and the Malaysian Genome Institute, has been formed to develop a uniform standard to avoid any possibility of counterfeiting of the honey in future," he added. He told reporters this at the Kelulut Walk 2016 Programme at the Astaka, Chukai, here Sunday. Also present was trigona bee ambassador Sabri Ali and Kemaman District officer, Rosman Roslan. Shabery said it was the hope of his ministry that within six months to a year, the uniform standard and branding for trigona bee honey throughout the country can be issued, to facilitate its export. "When there is an available standard and branding, people will be able to differentiate between the original and counterfeit honey products. It has been stated in the 2017 Budget that the development of the trigona bee honey industry is a priority. "The export of this honey has big potential and I have introduced it to a number of countries. Demand was high as certain countries did their own research and found trigona bee honey had a content that was much better than that of traditional honey. "We have already had requests for the product from a number of countries including China and from the Middle East," he added. Shabery said the development of the standard for trigona bee honey covered a number of aspects, including quality, packaging, and meeting certain specific set standards "We may also have a collection centre to assist entrepreneurs to meet the standard to be set. "Actually, this process is already underway and products have been issued a standard by Mardi, for example. But, it has to be agreed upon by all other concerned stakeholders," he added. Shabery also said in the quest towards making the trigona bee honey an export commodity, it also needs to be seen if a few hurdles can be overcome. "We have demand at present. But, the issue is, is supply adequate? "At present, while there are more than 10,000 entrepreneurs throughout the country, the number of colonies or hives is not properly accounted for. We also need the assistance of the Forestry Department to overcome certain issues such as the procurement of nests from the jungle without running afoul of the law," he added. -- BERNAMA