US, EU put Indian honey on high suspect list, faces ban.

Indian bee farmers in general and those from Punjab in particular are a worried lot as two of their major export markets – the US and the EU – have put their products on the “high suspect list” for containing traces of antibiotics. While the EU is contemplating a blanket ban on import of honey from India, the US has already detained 50 containers of honey and imposed a huge $80 million penalty on the suppliers for violating import regulations.

Interestingly, the US charges 1% duty on honey imported from India. On the other hand, the quantum of duty on honey imported from China is 220 per cent. This led to the crash in prices of Chinese honey. “While Indian honey sells for anything between $2,000 and $2,500 a tonne, Chinese honey sells for $750 a tonne,” says Amit Tunka, vice-president of the All-India Food Processors Association.

This has also resulted in malpractices. Some of the Indian honey exporters have resorted to unfair means. They import Chinese honey, blend it here, and market it in the US and the EU as Indian honey. But since there is a world of difference in the quality of pure Indian honey and Chinese blended honey, importers in the US and the EU got suspicious. Laboratory tests and scientific analysis proved them right.

“Now both the US and the EU are contemplating a ban Indian honey. On July 11, the EU wrote to the Indian government about its decision. The US Administration, too, has apprised the Indian government about the malpractice in the honey trade.

Unfortunately, the Indian government has done nothing to protect and safeguard the interests of genuine Indian honey exporters,” says Tunka.

Indian industry produces 55,000 tonnes of honey annually against three lakh tonnes produced by China. Of 35,000 tonnes exported from India, 15,000 tonnes are from Punjab. Tunka and major exporters want the union government to act before the entire industry comes crashing down.

Source : fnbnews.com