Dong Tap buzzing with honey bee profit

Dong Thap has thousands of hives, which produce tonnes of honey worth VND200.000 a litre, with profitable side businesses in selling queens and beeswax.

The province is well-forested with melaluca trees, the flowers of which provide a year-round supply of rich pollen which the bees bring back to the hive and turn into honey.

Beekeeper Nguyen Van Hut said the climate in Dong Thap was perfect for bees, and as spring arrives he is moving his hives around to take advantage of the best trees.

Hut said he mortgaged his house and land and borrowed to set up his business. He started with 50 hives, which earned him tens of millions of VND a year. He now has 310 hives.

"Aside from the financial success, the bees help pollinate the trees and protect the environment," he said.

Local beekeepers said there was a lot of skill involved in maintaining a healthy hive because the quality of the honey depended on the strength of the queen and the health of the trees in bloom.

Checking the health of a hive

The Women's Union in Tan Cong Sinh Commune has developed a model to help many poor households maintain and harvest hives to supplement their incomes.

"We're trying a new model now and have seen great results," said Nguyen Thi Tu Nguyen, chairwoman of the union. The hives will provide jobs to many people."

Nguyen said local people had previously relied on hunting wild animals, or stealing honey from wild bee hives, but used wood smoke to drive the bees away could lead to fatality and sometimes started forest fires.

"Now they have their own hives, they no longer have to go into the forest," she said.