Collection and processing
Men primarily collect honey from both trees
and rocks. Quality of honey is better during February to June.
People get better returns from rock bee honey that gives more
quantity - 7 to 10 KG in each hive. The other variety collected
from tree sheds gives 3 to 4 KG per hive. People collect rock
honey during night after identifying the spot in morning.
However honey from trees are collected during the daytime.
The process of honey collection has not changed
much over the years. The nest of the honey is burnt with the
fumes of green leaf and grass attached to a stick. After replacing
the bees the hive is collected with the help of long stick,
axe or by hands and put into the basket. The collected hive
is crushed with hands, and honey and wax separated. The honey
is kept in an open tin and is boiled for 2 to 3 hours, while
collecting impurities from honey. During boiling the hive
boils as a thick liquid. Then when it is cooled, wax comes
in to the top of the liquid as a layer. The layer it self
is wax and can be sold. Instead of boiling, earlier it used
to be dried under the sun for drying and separation of waste.
This used to take days to remove impurities and reduce moisture.
Honey wax is useful for wooden works at the houses and is
also useful for paint's industries.
The collected item is stored in a can or
bottle, usually kept in the plate containing water so as to
avoid ants. Usually in the peak season, a collector gets a
bottle full of honey per week.
Production and pricing
Though both procurement and sales of honey
has been erratic as seen from the figure, it is more so in
case of sales. The prices imply the same thing, where procurement
prices have increased steadily, but the sales price movement
has been quite erratic.
Figure
: Procurement and Sales of Honey (in MT)
Figure
: Procurement and Sales Price of Rockbee Honey (Rs. / Kg)
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