Clive Bryan, Gleaner Writer
LINSTEAD, St Catherine:
THE ALL-Island Bee Farmers Association has established a honey bottling plant that has a capacity to fill up to 14,000 bottles in eight hours, as part of efforts to boost honey production for the local and international markets.
The facility, now in operation in Linstead, St. Catherine, was built at a cost of just under $16 million and is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The plant is owned and operated by the All Island Bee Farmers Association, which spent $4.5 million to prepare the building to house the plant.
Machinery and equipment costing $11 million were provided by the Ministry of Agriculture through its Agricultural Support Services Project.
UPBEAT PRESIDENT
An upbeat bee farmers president, Winfield Murray, told Farmers Weekly that the entity was already purchasing honey from farmers at $1,200 per gallon. He said the price was agreed on by the membership of the association recently and arrangements were put in place to collect honey from apiaries which are not able to deliver to the bottling plant.
The association, which has a membership of between 350 and 400, is confident that the strategic move to bottle and distribute honey commercially will significantly enhance the returns from bee farming. The farmers will also market and distribute the product themselves, for which they are currently deciding on the brand name . The association is currently seeking distribution outlets to sell their honey products.
The operations of the facility will be manned by a staff of five to seven workers.
The facility is built to conform with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point food safety management standard.
The plant will also be bottling honey on contract for independent brands such as Walkerswood and some of the larger apiaries. This service will also be extended to individuals or groups to maximise the use of the facility.
The bee farmers are also working on establishing a set production standard at which to produce honey and other value-added products to maintain quality for both the local and export markets.
