Record honey collection
Around 38 metric tonnes of honey has been collected from the Sundarbans this year, compared to around 16 metric tonnes last year. This doubling has also been accompanied by an increase in the amounts paid to the honey-gatherers by the WBFDC—from Rs 200 per kg for the best quality honey last year to Rs 275 per kg.
Honey collection in the Sundarbans has bounced back to good health this year. The amount is more than double that collected last year, said a West Bengal Forest Development Corporation (WBFDC) official—around 38 metric tonnes, compared to around 16 metric tonnes last year.
The agency in responsible for processing, packaging and selling the honey collected from the mangroves in the retail market, through the brand Mouban.
The amount paid to the collectors has also increased, the official said, from Rs 200 per kg for the best quality honey last year to Rs 275 per kg. The honey will be sold at retail counters across the state at Rs 265 for a 500g jar and Rs 144 for a 250g jar.
Two cyclones, in 2020 and 2021, had wreaked havoc on the mangrove ecosystem. Combined with the covid pandemic, they had crippled the supply chain.
Bees that gather nectar from the khalsi flower are believed to be the source of the best honey in the Sundarbans.
A fixed number of moulis, as the honey-gatherers are known as in Bengali, are permitted to enter particular forest ranges of the Sundarbans early summer each year by the Forest Department.
This year, around 200 moulis were granted licences to collect honey from the Basirhat range of the Sundarban Tiger Reserve while aound 100 collected honey in the jungles of the South 24-Parganas forest division.
