Based on this information, write a new short title in English: Around 200 tons of honey are produced annually in TRNC – BRTK

Hasan Kozok, President of the Northern Cyprus Beekeepers Association, said, “Our country is the place where beekeeping is done most scientifically and most hygienically in the nearby geography” and wanted consumers to be comfortable about honey consumption.

Emphasizing that the basis of production is not money but people, Kozok said, “I cannot allow other children to eat honey that my grandchild cannot eat. “I will not protect producers who make mistakes,” he said.

Kozok said that 265 producers registered with the Beekeepers’ Union obtain an average of 200 tons of honey annually from around 20 thousand colonies, and that the amount rises to 300 tons from time to time, and noted that climate change and bee diseases affect production.

Speaking to the Turkish Agency Cyprus (TAK), Kozok reminded that those with 50 or more hives are considered bee producers, and noted that people sometimes start beekeeping as a hobby, but cannot continue it, and said, “If you put the hive in the plain, the bees will enter it and make honey, and you can turn on the fountain and collect the honey.” “You get it… Most people look at beekeeping like that, but it’s not like that,” he said.

-“Varroa is one of the diseases that threaten beekeeping.”

Stating that Varroa is one of the diseases that threaten beekeeping in the country and that the varroa mite, a type of parasite, feeds and multiplies on bees, Kozok noted that the parasite in question causes the bees to weaken, their lifespan to decrease and even the collapse of colonies.

Hasan Kozok said that hundreds of hives of bees that could not survive in Cyprus were brought to the country by ships in the 1980s, and expressed the opinion that varroa also came to the country this way.

-“The genetics of the Cyprus bee, which is resistant to the heat of Cyprus and the diseases that can be seen here, has been disrupted.”

Kozok stated that the Beekeepers Association has been importing certified, disease-free queen bees from abroad to the country for a while, but this practice has damaged the genetics of the Cyprus bee, which is resistant to the heat of Cyprus and the diseases that can be seen there.

Hasan Kozok stated that the Cyprus bee also has characteristics that negatively affect the producer, and that this bee, which has a tendency to swarm, causes productivity loss in the most critical periods.

-“My biggest goal is to bring the bee of our own geography, the Cyprus bee, to this country.”

Noting that a genetic research on bees was carried out in the Middle East and Mediterranean countries last year and that Cyprus was also included in this research, Hasan Kozok said:

“We can recover the Cyprus bee through breeding. My biggest goal is to bring the bee of our own geography, the Cyprus bee, to this country. “Honey made by the bees of your own geography gains a special value.”

-Control…

Pointing to the inspections of the Veterinary Department and the EU, Kozok reminded that production must be made in accordance with EU standards in order to export through the Green Line Regulation. Kozok stated that the honey in the country has been analyzed by the EU since 2007.

Hasan Kozok noted that honey samples were taken from the hives in the apiary selected by lot within the scope of EU inspections, the samples were sent to Brussels and Munich, and a sample remained in the Chamber of Commerce, and also stated that serious amounts were paid for the analyses.

Kozok also stated that there is no accredited laboratory in the country that can analyze honey.

-Organic fight against Varroa…

Kozok said that currently, with the pharmaceutical support provided by the European Union, they are fighting against varroa, which causes serious destruction in the hives, and continued as follows:

“Two experts from France were sent to us through the EU. They took samples from 30 apiaries and analyzed them in their laboratories at the Veterinary Department. Varroa has become 90 percent resistant to synthetic drugs. Their suggestion is that we should break the resistance by using organic medicine for 5 years. “The EU has distributed hundreds of thousands of Euros worth of medicine to beekeepers and will continue to do so.”

-“I see the EU as a driving force in monitoring”

Noting that it is important for the producer to know that he will be inspected, Kozok said, “I see the EU as a driving force in inspection,” adding that they have developed good relations with this country in the last 2 years and that the Beekeepers’ Union is working on a new EU project.

-“The Ministry of Agriculture provides the assistance we request”

Stating that the support that the Ministry of Agriculture can give to bee producers is limited, Kozok said, “We are aware of where we stand. The biggest problem of this country is, of course, not bees, beekeeping or honey. We act with this awareness. “There are blockages from time to time, but the Ministry of Agriculture provides the assistance we request,” he said.

Kozok also reminded that the producer was given 190 TL Direct Income Support per hive.

-Honey import and export

Speaking about honey export and import, Kozok said that until previous years, honey was imported to the country, but in recent years there is no need for this.

Stating that there is no legal problem to export honey to Southern Cyprus via the Green Line Regulation, but no honey has been exported to the South to date, Kozok said, “I do not think it is possible to export under these conditions. “Under the current conditions, our honey is just enough for us,” he said.

Kozok also talked about the Api Eurasia Union, of which TRNC is a founding member.

Stating that the founding members of the Union are Turkey, TRNC, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Dagestan, and that the first meeting was held in Baku, Kozok noted that the protocol foreseeing the cooperation and solidarity of these countries in the field of beekeeping was recently signed in Ankara.

-Honey safety: “Frozen honey is not fake…”

Speaking about honey safety, Hasan Kozok said, “The crystallization of honey depends on which flower the nectar is taken from. Crystallized (freezing) honey is not fake. “Honey taken from the hive and filled into jars without any processing is the honey that freezes the earliest,” he said.

Noting that citizens may not prefer to buy crystallized honey, Kozok stated that the honey that goes to the markets is heated up to 30 degrees within the framework of appropriate criteria and said, “Unfrozen honey is honey that has been processed. “Raw honey, which has the highest vitamin content, is crystallized honey,” he said.

Stating that it is a small country and the number of producers is low, Kozok said, “When producers see a different brand of honey on the shelves, they immediately inform us. “There is no problem if we reach the manufacturer through the contact number on the product, but if we cannot find an address, we take samples and send that honey to Ankara with the financial means of the Beekeepers Association to have it analyzed,” he said.

-“Producer information meetings are being held.”

Stating that the honey rooms of many large producers have been made hygienic, their containers have been renewed, and steel equipment has been used, Kozok said that frequent informative meetings are held to prevent the unconscious use of drugs for bee pests by the producers.

“We are getting better every day. Kozok said, “Rest assured about honey,” and asked consumers who find honey cheaper than the market to be suspicious of this situation, adding that the market price of honey is more or less certain everywhere.

-Karayeğen

Ersan Karayeğen, who has been beekeeping in the Fazıl Plümer Grove in Gönyeli for 11 years and gave a photo of his apiary to TAK, said that he started beekeeping as a hobby with the suggestion of his friend and improved it by attending courses.

Noting that the lack of rainfall affects honey production, Karayeğen stated that there are hive thefts from time to time, which causes anxiety in the producers.

Ersan Karayeğen said that bee diseases can be transmitted more easily due to the short distance of apiaries and warned beekeepers about this.