Farmers in Banaran Continue to Maintain Quality Black Honey
Harianjogja.com, GUNUNGKIDUL—Black honey bee farmer in Banaran Village, Playen District, continues to strive to maintain the quality of the honey produced. Farmers are overwhelmed by the demand. Playen’s distinctive black honey cultivated around the Banaran forest area, Playen, was initiated in 2017.
One honeycomb can produce approximately three to four kilograms of black honey in one year. The price of black honey per kilogram is around IDR 250,000 to IDR 300,000 depending on quality.
The Head of Sumber Rejeki Madu Manunggal Beekeepers, Banaran Village, Purwanto, admitted that currently breeders are overwhelmed in fulfilling the demand for black honey. He emphasized that if the stocks that are owned run out, the breeders will not want to look for honey in other areas because they are worried about its quality. “We do not seek honey from other regions in order to maintain quality and consumer confidence,” said Purwanto, Tuesday (9/4/2019).
He stated, so far, black honey consumers are still only individuals. Purwanto admitted that he did not sell honey to middlemen or to large companies. “The reason is because we have not been able to produce large amounts of honey,” he said. According to him, there are certain months when bees do not produce honey, namely February, March and April. The breeders in Banaran use the Banaran forest area which reaches 600 hectares as cultivation land.
The Deputy Regent of Gunungkidul, Immawan Wahyudi, said that the Regency Government is ready to help market the black honey typical of Playen District. “As a form of support, I personally ordered two kilograms of black honey,” he said while visiting a black honey farm in Banaran, Playen, Tuesday.