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Production of honey and apiary products

At the present time number of persons in the Anykščiai district in Lithuania engaged in beekeeping is 230. Bee keeping is their main income source. One bee-keeper in the district occupies himself with ecological beekeeping. Anykščiai Department of the Lithuanian Beekeepers Union include 165 members - beekeepers, the greater part of them with registered farms and other part consists of individual farmers having several bee hives each. All in all beekeepers of the Anykščiai district keep about 4000 bee colonies. Industrialized apiaries are thought to include more than 50 bee colonies. The number of such apiaries in the district is 16.In the Anykščiai district beekeepers produce propolis, bee bread, pollen, however, the greatest part of production remains honey. Usually beekeepers take honey out of the hives twice a season and if conditions are favourable honey can be taken three times a season. Beekeepers regard honey as spring honey, which is gathered mostly from blossoming gardens, sow-thistles, and other spring plants, summer one – gathered from lime-blossoms, heather, rapes, buckwheat, and autumn honey, which occurs not often. In the Anykščiai district spring honey constitute about 20 percent, rape honey constitute 50 to 100 percent, and percent buckwheat honey about 20%. Honey gathered from different plants exhibits different biological properties. Table shows spring, summer and autumn quantities of honey gathered by district beekeepers during the last three years. All remaining beekeepers in the Anykščiai district are considered as small beekeeping farms. Small beekeeping farms keep all in all 2656 bee colonies and it constitutes 65 % of all kept in Anykščiai district bee colonies.

Honey gathered in the Anykščiai district is widely known for its high quality in the Republic, because within territory of the district and around it large enterprises polluting environment are still absent. Agricultural production activities are not very intense because the greater part of soils of the Anykščiai district are not suitable for extensive farming with coniferous forests occupying considerable part of it. Horticulture is rather developed in the district. Flowering gardens creates good conditions for gathering large amounts of high quality spring honey and woodiness of the district ensures high quality of autumn honey .

Future of beekeeping in the Anykščiai district and Lithuania depends on links with European Union markets. Realization of apiary products and price levels in the European Union markets would support more rapid beekeeping development and high quality apiary products supply augmentation in Lithuania. With the growing life level consumption by society of ecologically pure, healthy food products, including also apiary products will increase considerably.

Division of the Lithuanian Beekeeper Society.