Certified Sidr-honey to hit market soon

 

 

Fresh stock of pure Sidr-honey in large quantity, from local apiaries carrying certificate of genuine bee honey from authorised laboratory in the country, is set to hit local market soon, as the harvesting season has begun, said a trader.

“We have harvested Sidr honey from one of our farms recently,” said Khalid Saif MA Al Suwaidi, the owner of Bu Saif Apiaries, a Qatari beekeeping and honey production firm.

Speaking with The Peninsula in an exclusive interview, Al Suwaidi said that the newly harvested stock is under process and expected to come to the market within a couple of weeks.

To clear the doubts of consumer about fake honey, the local honey producers obtained a certificate from the laboratory at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.

With the help of the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, local honey production increased significantly.

“Last year we produced about 12 tonnes of honey and this year we expect about 14 tonnes, thanks to the Ministry”.

Al Suwaidi said that the Ministry distributed complete tools and equipment for bee keeping and provided various platforms for marketing the products.

All local farms interested in beekeeping were provided beehives, dresses, containers for storing and other necessary things free of cost, one time to encourage them to begin the business.

Al Suwaidi said there are three types of honey in Qatar – Sidr, Samur and Al Rabi according to the seasonal flowers. Sidr honey is being produced in large quantity in Qatar and has the highest demand. Sidr honey is being used for medical purpose and helps boost the memory of children and curing respiratory disorder.

Qatari Sidr is being produced in desert climate making it special compared to the Sidr of other countries. There are other Sidr honey like Kashimiri one but GCC Sidr has best quality in test and other specifications.

Most of the customers, not only Qatari even expatriates from Asian and European countries, come to our store seeking Sidr honey by name due to its large benefits for medicinal purpose and nutrition.

According to Al Suwaidi, Bu Saif Apiaries is one of the largest producer of honey with 16 farms in the country.

Bu Saif Apiaries is also running beekeeping farms in abroad like Oman, Turkey and Spain in a bid to provide more varieties of honey products to local market. The firm produces about 15 different type of honey through farms in Qatar and abroad. They are rosemary, lemon, orange, thyme and pine among others.

“We offer all types of honey at QR350 per kg, QR175 for 500grams and QR100 for 250grams,” he added.

Al Suwaidi said that identifying genuine bee honey is most difficult job. “Many methods are being used to identify the genuine one but I would like to assure that none of them work except the laboratory test, said Al Suwaidi.

“The laboratory is only way to indentify the genuine honey, therefore we send samples of our product to the laboratory at the Ministry for the issuance of the certificate and placed at main entrance of our shop to win the trust of the consumers,” said Al Suwaidi.

Bu Saif Apiaries is running a café in Souq Waqif, Doha using honey in all meals in place of sugar.