Value chain analysis of honey bee (Apis mellifera) products in Chitwan, Nepal

A survey was conducted to carry out an in-depth value chain analysis of honey bee subsector in the Chitwan from January 2019 to May 2019. Seventy-two respondents, including 60 beekeepers, 2 intermediaries, 2 cooperatives, 2 wholesalers cum processor, 3 retailers and 3 consumers were selected for interview using simple random sampling technique. Each beekeeper with more than 20 beehives was taken as respondents. The average number of beehives per farm was 56.80, and the average honey production per annum was 24.064 kg Hive-1. The gross return per hive and benefit-cost ratio in the study area was found to be NRs. 9247.69 and 1.56, respectively. The price spread was calculated as NRs. 151.3 per kg and producers share was 69.6% on an average. The marketing efficiency was found highest when sold directly to the retailers (2.57) followed by the involvement of wholesalers cum processors (1.75) and found lowest when various intermediaries were involved (0.48). Furthermore, the low availability of foraging areas and high competition with foreign honey was identified as the major production and marketing problem, respectively. This research explored the existing scenario of the value chain in honey bee products and its major constraints in the study area.