IRBID: Jordan’s important tourism industry may have been affected by Covid-19, but the pandemic brought a boost to another sector, keeping its beekeepers busy and happy as demand for honey has increased.
The country’s four thousand apiarists have increased production of honey, hailed for its anti-inflammatory and other health benefits.
Even if there is no scientific consensus that honey helps fight Covid-19, many of patients have used it to soothe symptoms like sore throats.
A beekeeper Mutasim Hammad said that the pandemic period especially had a great, positive impact on the business. There was soaring demand for honey, and people got to know it.
People Become Aware of Honey’s Value
People have become more aware of the honey’s value and are using the guaranteed locally produced honey,” said Hammad, who sells nearly four hundred kilograms a year.
The Jordan prides itself on its ninetieth different types of honey, including eucalyptus, citrus, and maple varieties, depending on which plants the honey bees pollinate.
Jordan Beekeeping Association’s head Mohammad Rababaa said that they had about 2,500 flowering plants. This diversity in plants gives a distinction to the Jordanian honey, and it is likely to increase the nutritional and therapeutic value of it.
He said that since the pandemic, demand for locally produced honey has soared. The sector has a much bigger workforce than the official count of Jordan, of nearly 1,400 beekeepers.
He said that the number of beekeepers is more than four thousand, and they produce about 700 to 800 tonnes annually or about 70% of Jordan’s annual domestic needs. Jordan is very close to self-sufficiency.
A fellow honey enthusiast, Mohammad Khatib, also talked about Covid-19 and lockdown periods, saying it helped and gave him enough time to learn about bees and take good care of them.
