"The mafia is carrying beehives with guest workers". How to find natural honey in Bashkiria?

From time to time, Rospotrebnadzor finds in stores in the Russian Federation «pseudo-Bashkir» bad quality honey: analyzes show the presence of drugs inside (!) and even pesticides. How do they end up in a natural product?? Incidentally, this is not the only problem in our market. As I was told in Ufa, «honey mafia» also tries to bring to the republic… «guest worker bees» for the next production of cheap and low-quality honey.

In an interview «AiF» producers and traders of honey from Bashkiria tell, why dishonest businessmen try «simplify» beekeeping in the Russian Federation and what it leads to. And in general, do they control the creation of natural honey in Bashkiria now??

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

70 % on sale — it's not honey

With antibiotics, turns out, things will be easy: bees get sick too, like people (especially in spring and autumn). Some beekeepers treat them, giving insects syrup with strong foods, which are then found in the composition of honey.

«This is fundamentally wrong, — expresses an opinion President of the Interregional Association of Honey Processors Rashit Galeev. — We in our company wrap similar products from the threshold, many overseas buyers, including China, also don't take. We insist that, to ban such things by law, but, unfortunately, until they listen to us. But the analysis of honey for drugs is terribly expensive, 80 000 rubles for one test!»

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

With another «chemistry» things are even worse in the honey business. Bashkir beekeepers often complain about, that the fields are constantly sprayed with pesticides — and poor honey bees, collecting plant pollen, along with pests fall under the distribution.

«In one area, pesticides were sprayed from airplanes against silkworms, — clarifies entrepreneur Zakir Magafurov. — And there, in general, all the bees to one died. Peasants grow rapeseed willingly, make fuel and oil out of it, it is exported for foreign currency, That's why it's always treated with pesticides., killing insects. Minimum 10% bees near rapeseed fields are dying, my acquaintance 150 hives lost. Very fundamental, so that pesticides do not get into honey in any way, but who cares?»

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

You will laugh, however… trying to import to Bashkiria «guest workers», specifically cheap worker bees from Uzbekistan: police constantly search trucks from Central Asia, turns them back. There are some scams: sunflower honey from Orenburg is delivered to Ufa, repack and… sent to shops and markets of the country already like honey, produced on the territory of Bashkiria. Local beekeepers unanimously declare: 70% cans, sold in Russia with a proud inscription «Bashkir honey», in fact, they have nothing to do with their goods.

«Beekeepers do not need to interfere»

— Here it's not even, that they don't fight fakes, — laments beekeeper Fanis Khalilov. — Say, if beekeepers in Bashkiria were not trivially interfered with, they would produce more real quality honey. But instead, such laws are passed, at least stop, at least fall. Now every person, who has at least three hives, must register as a sole trader. For what, if he produces honey purely for himself and his relatives to give the bank, does not sell to anyone? Or decided, that any owner of a personal subsidiary farm with bees must be located at least 300 meters from another dwelling. How is that? The people in the village live, what do they want, move houses away from neighbors? This is physically impossible.

"There's a nightmare, this is generally bodya”. How to buy real Bashkir honey?
More

«He began to eat less»

Beekeeping in Bashkiria has recently been engaged in more and therefore, that it brings in a very decent income. Rishat Galeev notes, that the average owner of a large village apiary (300 hives) pumps to the dawn 15 tons of honey. If he sells at least 250 rubles per kilogram — 312 thousand rubles a month, huge funds. But labor, undoubtedly, hellish. Zinnur Tukhvatullin points to the building, where he puts hives with bees for the winter, and smiles wickedly: «Here try, several hundred boxes, together with a companion, you need to drag here… it doesn't seem like much». Well, naturally, first, the apiary requires costs: buy a breed of Central Russian bees — 7 000 rubles for «bee family» (located in one hive) plus for a tree beehive lay out another 5,000 rubles.

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

Main «for now» — consumption of honey is falling in Russia. According to statistics, a citizen of the Russian Federation eats only 300 g bee products, and a German citizen — 1200 G. «Is it true, germanic awful honey, — notes Zakir Magafurov. — There has been no good weather for honey collection in Germany for several years in a row. Even sugar syrup or molasses — and the quality is better than the average Western European honey. Rapeseed honey, which we have 90 rubles per kilo and is called „technical“, among Europeans they do not consider bad… Well, China is bringing its own goods to the EU, and in Chinese apiaries artificial flavors are: if you wish, there will be honey with the smell of chocolate, kiwi, pineapple. But it's chemistry, not a natural creation».

All honey merchants complain in unison in discussions: the oldest Russian product (recognizable since ancient Rus'), the main subject of export to the West in the Middle Ages, the citizens of the Russian Federation stopped eating.

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

«Remember, because your great-grandmother probably drank tea only with honey? — asks me Sergey Kayumov, dealer «honey point» at the Central market of Ufa. — And you yourself? Only when you have a cold, probably, for once you eat honey? That's what it is. Young people prefer South American chocolates, candies, cakes, not interested in honey».

Photo: AiF/ Zhora Zotov

«Fake can't be figured out.»

September — normal time for pumping honey from combs: in Bashkiria, when you drive along the road, everywhere there are beekeepers with wooden stands, where multi-colored banks are crowded. Two-thirds (!) global lindens are located precisely in the Bashkir forests, which provides local «honey products» rare exclusivity. Honey in Bashkiria has a simply unique taste, but you understand, just arrived in the republic. Creation is ordered here, stringent checks and analyzes everywhere: I was in Ufa in several large stores, where on each (!) jar separately indicated specific apiary, where did buckwheat come from, linden or wild honey, plus the shepherd's family. About «slouch» in Bashkortostan you can not be afraid, everything is very serious. But, Alas, anything happens outside the republic. How confident Rishat Galeev is, an ordinary consumer will not be able to distinguish Bashkir honey from a fake with flavor, here you need a competent specialist. Should the republican system of inspections be extended to the whole of Russia?? Yes, May be. While our consumption of honey is falling, Bashkir products are increasingly being purchased in China and Arab countries. I, Maybe, soon it will be redundant again.