FAO figures covered in a Monday report by the IRIB News showed that Iranian bee farmers had produced some 77,000 metric tons (mt) of honey last year, down by 3.75% from 2021.
The output put Iran just behind China and Turkey in the global ranking of largest honey producers in 2022, according to the figures.
The FAO described the honey produced in Iran as the best in the world in terms of quality which it said was due to the country’s natural resources and its plant diversity, according the IRIB News report.
Figures by Iran Chamber of Commerce show Iran supplied some $5.6 million worth of honey to 22 countries around the world last year.
Honey exports from Iran are expected to at least double this year amid plans to supply 2,000 mt of the product to China under a contract signed between the two countries last year.
Authorities stated in February that honey exports to China will give Iranian producers an opportunity to market their products in other East Asian countries.
FAO data on honey production in Iran come as figures by Iran’s agriculture ministry released in April last year showed that annual output of honey in the country had reached 111,000 mt.
The figures showed that Iran had the fifth largest honey bee population in the world last year with some 11 million colonies in nearly 100,000 farms.
