(Dubai) – May 09: An Emirati entrepreneur from Hatta has launched the region’s first apiary that rears queen bee breeds both locally and internationally, a project considered one of its kind for the region.
Two years ago, Al Mana Al Kaabi established Hatta Honey, a honey production business, which encouraged Al Kaabi to explore the local rearing of queen bees.
Beekeepers across the world have long noticed a sudden and fast drop in the number of bee species—a phenomenon that can only be seen as a bad omen.
The mass death of bees has dire consequences on global food security, since most crops rely on the natural pollination process necessary for the growth of fruits and vegetables.
Perhaps the next 10 years pose the highest risk to our food-security chain. The excessive use of pesticides may lead to the disappearance of vegetables and fruits in markets everywhere and may even put us on the verge of an international famine.
The UAE imports over 95% of the queen bee hives required to produce honey, according to Al Kaabi. Seeing an opportunity to rear queen bees locally, he established the GCC’s first apiary dedicated to rearing the best local, regional and international breeds.
Al Kaabi’s apiary today rears queen bee breeds from Canada, Italy, Oman and Saudi Arabia. He hopes to expand his honey business across the UAE and to regional markets. In the future, he also hopes to export UAE-produced honey to international markets.
He is also working to create a new bee breed, which he plans to call the Dubai Breed that will have unique traits that facilitate the production of high quality honey.
