- Title: Egypt's beekeepers under threat as economy slumps
- Date: 7th December 2016
- Summary: SHIBIN EL KOM, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 30, 2016) (REUTERS) BEEKEEPERS SEEN THROUGH BEEHIVE BOXES WITH BEEHIVES BOXES BEES IN HIVES VARIOUS OF BEEKEEPER SETTING CLOTH ON FIRE VARIOUS OF SMOKE BLOWN ON BEEHIVE BEEHIVE FRAME BEING REMOVED FROM BOX BEES ON FRAME (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEEKEEPER AND HIVE OWNER, SAEED HAGRAS, SAYING: "A long time ago the situation was better. The production was high. A cell could produce 25 kilograms a year. Now we consider ourselves lucky if it produces two kilograms (of honey). Due to the current situation that is facing the country in terms of the sugar crisis, the hives are destroyed to the extent that 60% of the bees have disappeared." VARIOUS OF BEEKEEPER ORGANISING FRAMES BEEKEEPER AT WORK VARIOUS OF BEEKEEPER, MOHAMED HAGRAS, HOLDING FRAMES WITH BEES BEES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEE HIVE OWNER, RAYHAN MELIGY, SAYING: "All the hives are threatened with the extinction of the bees. If the bees become extinct it will mean that the crops will be destroyed. The crops are pollinated through bees. There will be no crops and the corn will decline, the harvest will decline and the clover will decline. All the crops will decline." VARIOUS OF BEEKEEPER REMOVING FRAME FROM HIVE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEEKEEPER AND HIVE OWNER, SAEED HAGRAS, SAYING: "There is a sugar crisis and the bees have to receive nutrition through their winter hibernation. There are no nectars or flowers. There is the winter hibernation of the bees. The bees have to receive sugar nutrition during their hibernation. This is non-existent at the moment. So now instead of profiting from taking the honey produced and selling it, we are now supplying it for the bees again instead of the sugar." BEEKEEPER BLOWING SMOKE VARIOUS OF BEEKEEPER HOLDING FRAME WITH BEES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEEKEEPER, MOHAMED HAGRAS, SAYING: "The government is not helping the beekeepers. It is not providing any support in any way. We export approximately 1.5 million packages from Egypt to the Gulf. There are possibilities of investment in European countries or the U.S. and Canada. Their prices are very high. The prices of packages that are exported range from $30 to $35 but the price of one kilogram of honey in Canada or the US surpasses $130." BEEKEEPER AT WORK VARIOUS OF BEES ON FRAME (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BEEKEEPER, MOHAMED HAGRAS, SAYING: "We are calling on the government to help the beekeepers to provide support. This will create employment opportunities for the youth and open up investments, so instead of exporting 1.5 million packages we will export two and three million packages. Many will be employed and the country will receive hard currency. We are in dire need of hard currency and investment at this present moment in time." VARIOUS OF BEEHIVES
- Embargoed: 22nd December 2016 14:33
- Keywords: bees Egypt economy
- Location: SHIBIN EL KOM, EGYPT
- City: SHIBIN EL KOM, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Reuters ID: LVA0015BVTSGL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In Egypt's Shibin El Kom beekeepers are harvesting honey from their bees.
But these beekeepers fear their hives are under threat due to a shortage of sugar, as are the flowers and crops that their bees pollinate.
Sugar became hard to find in recent months after the government took control of stocks to counter what it said was an epidemic of hoarding by merchants reacting to rising prices as a result of a shortage of foreign currency.
"A long time ago the situation was better. The production was high. A cell could produce 25 kilograms a year. Now we consider ourselves lucky if it produces two kilograms (of honey). Due to the current situation that is facing the country in terms of the sugar crisis, the hives are destroyed to the extent that 60% of the bees have disappeared,'' said beekeeper Saeed Hagras.
Others are worried not only about the impact on the bee population, but also on growing crops such as clover and wheat that will be hit by a decline in the number of bees.
"All the hives are threatened with the extinction of the bees. If the bees become extinct it will mean that the crops will be destroyed. The crops are pollinated through bees. There will be no crops and the corn will decline, the harvest will decline and the clover will decline. All the crops will decline,'' explained beekeeper Rayhan Meligy.
Bees are fed sugar to tide them over the winter and to compensate for honey harvested from their hives.
With sugar in short supply, beekeepers are giving their bees honey.
Thirty-one year old engineering graduate Mohamed Hagras works alongside his father at the farm, based in the capital of the Nile Delta province of Menoufia.
Mohamed recently hit the headlines for growing a 'beard of bees' in a bid to raise awareness about the importance of the insects.
He says the government should do more to stimulate the industry.
"The government is not helping the beekeepers. It is not providing any support in any way. We export approximately 1.5 million packages from Egypt to the Gulf. There are possibilities of investment in European countries or the US and Canada. Their prices are very high. The prices of packages that are exported range from $30 to $35 but the price of one kilogram of honey in Canada or the US surpasses $130,'' he said.
"We are calling on the government to help the beekeepers to provide support. This will create employment opportunities for the youth and open up investments, so instead of exporting 1.5 million packages we will export two and three million packages. Many will be employed and the country will receive hard currency. We are in dire need of hard currency and investment at this present moment in time,'' he added.
Beekeeping in Egypt can be traced back to the time of the Pharaohs, with the first hieroglyphs of bees dating back thousands of years.
But as the economic crisis bites, beekeepers remain concerned about their own future. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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