Ministry of Commerce And Supplies - Enhanced Integrated ...

N T I S2010The opportunities for product diversification are at two fronts. First, to produce specialty forage-based honeyand ensure its quality for export into special markets like Japan. Second, opportunity lies in producing organicand pesticide-free honey. Some traders claim their honey as organic and pesticide-free because it is collectedfrom forest and by default it is organic.Index 4: Socio-economic ImpactCurrent Employment and Job-Creation Prospect: According to previous estimates, more than 53,000 farmersare involved in honey production. The commercial production from A. mellifera is estimated to be coming fromabout 130,000 hives distributed by the government and various development programmes. A previous FTEEby ITC (2007a) of 13,000 was calculated by using an estimate of the required labour days for the productionof 600 MT. It appears high, given that the annual value-added is less than US$2 million. A current productionof 1,000 MT should require around 50,000 hives, and the required labour for one hive based on available USor UK data is only 5-30 hours, which suggests that FTEE in Nepal is well below 13.000. One would have toadd people working along the value chain. We use 2,000 for the calculation of our indictors in the absence ofbetter estimates. But it should be noted that for almost all farmers honey is not a full-time occupation, so thenumber of farmers involved in production is much higher.Gender Impact: Employment creation for women is very small due to the hazardous nature of productionprocessing. Women are also not much involved in honey processing.Contribution to Skill Development: A number of training has been implemented by government and beekeeping,honey processing and hive-making projects, which have generated required skilled and technicalmanpower. However, skilled labour and improved tools are insufficient for processing of honey.Impact on Development of Disadvantaged Regions: Most of the beekeeping farmers are small farmers whosefarm economics is constrained by land resources and they can get some cash income from honey production.As it is being produced in the whole of the Terai and hill areas, honey is very important for the developmentof this region. Also, beekeeping complements the production of other crops, especially those which are notof self-pollinating type.Energy and Water Constraints: The sector is not energy- or water-intensive. Some energy is used in processing,but most of the honey extractors are still hand-operated.Environmental Impact: The greatest environmental impact of beekeeping is its contribution towardspollinating. It has been reported that beekeeping helps increase the yield of all agricultural crops like mustardrapeseed, orange, etc. No negative environmental impact has been reported by beekeeping, except for thesmall impact due to the expanding use of wood in manufacturing beehives (very low quality timber used).Market Attractiveness IndexSeveral EU markets, the USA, and Japan are the most attractive markets. Nepal enjoys significant tariffpreferences in these markets. 12 However, honey is subject to stringent sanitary standards. Currently, honey isexported only to India, with official trade figures being negligible. 1312The table shows different tariff advantages across EU markets because the tariff advantage is calculated by comparing the rate applicable toNepal with the rate of the main competitors in the individual market. If France, for example, imports honey mainly from Spain (duty-free), thenthe tariff advantage is lower than in a market such as the UK, where honey is mainly imported from countries subject to higher MFN rates.13Estimates were used for exports, see above. The table shows official import data from India.38NEPAL TRADE INTEGRATION STRATEGY 2010BACKGROUND REPORT