Bhutan Honey Industry

The honey industry in Bhutan is a small but expanding subsector of the country's agriculture, combining traditional honey-collection practices with modern apiculture promoted since the 1980s by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Forests and Park Services. Six honey-bee species are present in the country, of which three — Apis cerana, Apis mellifera and the giant Himalayan rock bee Apis laboriosa — account for the bulk of production.^[1]

According to figures published by the Bhutan Broadcasting Service in 2024, around 7,500 households across the country were engaged in beekeeping, collectively producing close to 42 metric tonnes of honey and generating revenue of more than Nu 36 million. Production is concentrated in the central and western regions, with Bumthang and Wangdue Phodrang particularly important. Despite year-on-year growth, domestic production cannot meet domestic demand, and Bhutan continues to import an approximately equivalent volume of honey from India each year.^[2]

Government policy treats apiculture as an income-diversification crop for rural households and as a pollination service for orchards and field crops. In 2024 the Department of Agriculture published a draft vision for a "resilient, competitive and export-driven honey industry by 2034", setting out targets for production, hive density and export development.^[2]

Bee Species and Habitats

Three species are kept in hives. Apis cerana, the indigenous Asian hive bee, has been the basis of traditional log-hive beekeeping in central and eastern Bhutan for centuries; the species is well-adapted to the country's climate and altitudes up to about 3,500 metres. Apis mellifera, the European honey bee, was introduced from the late 1980s onward through donor-supported apiculture projects and is now the principal species in commercial-scale operations, particularly in Bumthang. Apis florea and the stingless Trigona are present but minor.^[1]

Apis laboriosa, the giant Himalayan honey bee, nests on overhanging cliff-faces in remote eastern dzongkhags including Lhuentse and Trashi Yangtse, and produces a high-altitude honey traditionally harvested in spring and autumn by ladder-and-rope methods. Cliff honey-hunting in Bhutan is now subject to conservation rules administered by the Department of Forests and Park Services and is permitted only under licence in designated areas.^[3]

Beekeepers' Cooperative of Bhutan

The Beekeepers' Cooperative of Bhutan (BCoB/BECoB) was founded on 21 July 1997, with its headquarters in Bumthang. It operates as a producer cooperative under Bhutanese cooperative law, with an elected chair, secretary, treasurer and committee members. The cooperative initially focused on Apis mellifera beekeeping introduced through Swiss and Helvetas-supported development projects in the Bumthang valley, building on the existing dairy and brewing infrastructure.^[4]

By the early 2020s the cooperative had grown to around 73 registered members, each operating between five and several hundred hives. Annual production at the Bumthang cooperative averaged approximately 15 metric tonnes — around a third of national output — and the produce was marketed under the Bumthang Pure Honey brand through Druksell, the state-supported e-commerce platform, and through retail outlets in Thimphu and Paro.^[4]

Production by Region

Department of Agriculture data summarised in journal reviews indicate that the east-central region (centred on Bumthang and Wangdue Phodrang) is the largest honey-producing zone, followed by west-central, western and eastern regions. The eastern region, despite hosting the highest-altitude wild populations of Apis laboriosa, has lower hive-based production because of the relative scarcity of Apis mellifera apiculture there. Southern dzongkhags including Sarpang and Samtse have lower-altitude Apis cerana beekeeping integrated with citrus, areca and rubber cultivation.^[1]

Markets and Trade

The bulk of Bhutanese honey is sold in the domestic market — both for direct human consumption and as an input to bakery and confectionery — at prices that have risen as production has come under cooperative branding. The cooperative's Bumthang honey retails at premium prices, in part on the strength of organic certification of Apis mellifera output. Imports from India, sold under Indian brands and at lower price points, occupy the mass market.^[5]

Exports remain limited. The 2024 ministerial vision proposes the development of premium-grade honey exports to South Asian and Asian markets within a decade, modelled in part on the export experience of cordyceps and matsutake mushrooms; full export volumes have not yet materialised.^[2]

Policy Framework

Apiculture is supported under the 12th Five-Year Plan and the 13th Five-Year Plan as a priority sub-sector for income diversification, with extension services delivered through dzongkhag agriculture offices and the Department of Agriculture's research centre at Yusipang. The 2024 draft vision document sets quantitative targets for production growth, hive distribution, beekeeper training and export readiness, and identifies climate variability and forage scarcity as the principal constraints.^[2]

References

1. "Status and Prospective of Beekeeping in Bhutan: A Review" — Apicultural Society of Korea Journal
2. "Bhutan drafts vision to build resilient, competitive and export-driven honey industry by 2034" — BBS, 2024
3. "The honey from Bhutan is of the highest quality" — Daily Bhutan
4. Pure Honey from Bumthang — Druksell (BCoB)
5. "Honey makes good money" — Bhutan Honey