CAMAGÜEY.-Camagüey´s Beekeepers will close the year with the delivery of 490 tonnes of honey, although this sector was severely damaged by the impact of hurricane Irma last September.

The commitment was set at 700 tonnes, but about 30 % was affected by the cyclone, told the ACN Omelio Beard Alonso, director of the Business Unit Basis (UEB) Beekeeping Camagüey, who clarified that if will comply with other indicators, such as the wax, propolis and bee breeding queens.

The melliferous flora in the northern municipalities of Nuevitas, Sierra de Cubitas, Esmeralda and Mines, suffered the greatest damage during the passage of the hurricane, which led to the implementation of several actions in order to achieve the productive indicators proposed and the prioritized attention to the beekeepers affected.

Beard Alonso explained that the 536 hives damaged all have been recovered, and applied as a strategy to relocate in areas with better flowering and indices of water supply, such as prevention of possible effects on the quality of the nectar.

With around 221 breeders distributed throughout the province, is the most prominent, followed by Santa Cruz del Sur, Najasa and Mines, with the higher deliveries, when honey is traded between two thousand and two thousand 500 euros per tonne in the international market.

Odalis Perez Martinez, a specialist in Veterinary and Livestock Activities of the UEB Beekeeping Camagüey, explained that currently is working on the recovery of eight genetic centers for the breeding of queen bees in several municipalities, and provision is made for three more in 2018.

Our objective is to increase each breeding stock to maintain the vitality of the apiary; at the same time that we multiply the hives, we obtain the listed royal jelly and insert in the province species more resistant to weather phenomena, he said.

To achieve a fully organic beekeeping and becomes one of the main objectives of the apicultural Camagüey, an entity that works to strengthen the agro-industry and to encourage the increase of the production of wax, honey and propolis for export.