An experimental beekeeping program run by the Council of Agriculture (COA) in forest reserves has yielded excellent honey with high levels of antioxidants, the council said, adding that it is considering abolishing laws prohibiting forest beekeeping.
Taiwan Forestry Research Institute researchers and a bee farmer unveiled wild forest honeys made from the nectar of Alexandrian laurels, Melaleuca flowers and flowers from a variety of broadleaf tree species at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday.
Those honeys are different to the majority on the market, which are made by bees feeding on longan and litchi nectar or pollen from flowers of fruit-bearing plants, institute researcher Chao Jung-tai (趙榮台) said.
Forests have a higher diversity of nectar source plants than farmlands and groves, Chao said.
“Most bee farms are located in agricultural areas, especially around fruit groves, so bees are often exposed to pesticides to the extent that bee farmers might ask fruit farmers to stop spraying pesticide in flowering seasons to protect bees and honey. Wild forest honey is totally organic because there is no pesticide pollution in forests,” he said.
Beekeeping is currently prohibited in forest areas, but the institute ran trial beekeeping programs at a forest preserve in Nantou County and a farm in Chiayi County last year to assess the feasibility of forest beekeeping.
“The program produced 1,600kg of honey in six months from 70 hives — which is about the same production capacity as bee farms around fruit groves. The program also saw the pollination rates and fruition rates of trees rise significantly. We think that forest beekeeping would be an environmentally and economically sustainable industry,” Chao said.
“Wild forest honey goes through a natural ripening process, which can preserve a large amount of antioxidants, enzymes and nutrients, while most bee farms ripen the honey artificially, which destroys enzymes in the honey,” bee farmer Wang Chih-tsung (王智聰) said.
Wild forest honey can be sold for NT$1.2 per gram, which is more than twice the price of ordinary honey, Wang said.
Even if only 2 percent of the nation’s forests are suitable for beekeeping, there would still be more than 40,000 hectares of forest available, he said.
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