LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh is going to spread its sweetness across the world by making its honey available in the international market. After the successful launching of `Nawab' brand of mangoes, now the Uttar Pradesh government is ready to launch in the international market its second product in the `Nawab' series, the honey.

U.P., being the premier producer of honey in the country, is already exploiting its potential by exporting honey to many European countries.

The `Nawab' brand of honey would be officially launched on May 5, State Food Processing Secretary Anil Swarup told UNI here. The `Nawab' is the brand which has been registered by the state government for its various products in the domestic and global market.

The UP Cooperative Horticulture Federation (UPCHF) would market the honey in the international and domestic sector mainly produced in Saharanpur even as the state has the largest share of honey cultivators and beehives in the country.

Federation Managing Director R.K. Tomar told UNI here today that UPCHF had exported 300 tonnes of processed honey to the European Union (EU) countries in the last financial year and in 2005-06 it was expected to export 500 tons, thus earning a foreign revenue worth over Rs 2 crores. The total honey production in UP during the current financial year is expected to be around 3,500 tons.

Mr Tomar said the federation's role is confined to being a promoter and facilitator in honey cultivation and it has recently registered the `Nawab' brand of processed honey.

Earlier, the U.P. State Agriculture Produce Marketing Board in association with the federation has successfully launched the Nawab brand of mangoes in the international market last year. The Dussehri mango of Lucknow, under the brand name of Nawab fared well in China and Europe and this year 2,000 tonne have been booked so far.

As there were only a handful of best-known brands of honey in the country, there is a great prospect for the Nawab honey in the country. "As we are expected to keep the price at around only half that was being charged by the top brands, the sale of the Nawab brand would gradually pick up after its launch,'' a senior official here claimed.

The honey business has proved a boon for the farmers of Saharanpur as the federation has been extending technical know-how and conducting training programmes for the farmers in bee keeping.

The MD said the federation is also promoting the growth of required flora and fauna for honey cultivation. "Three units are producing processed honey in Saharanpur and two more units would be commissioned by the end of the current fiscal,'' he added.

Saharanpur has also been declared as Horticulture Development Zone for honey by the state government. -- UNI

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