59-05-032 Proceeding

381 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress CONSIDERATIONS OF TRADITIONAL ASIAN BEEKEEPING SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY Suthasinee Noptunya, Potchanat Samermit and Siriwat Wongsiri 1 Abstract: Two main species of commercial honeybees are well known among beekeepers all over the world, the Apis mellifera , or the European honeybees , and the Apis cerana, the Asian honeybees , all of which are suitable for both personal interest and commercial industry. Apismellifera produces more honey than Apis cerana, which is physically smaller and a little different. Apis mellifera, which is of European origin, has been imported tomost continents including the Americas, Australia and Asia, however, has not thrivedwell inThailand due to different factors, mites and diseases problems for example, and does not seem to be suitable for honey beekeeping development effort in the country unless it is to be carried out on a large scale production. Apis cerana , on the other hand, being local honeybees, canwithstand the climate and the disease. Moreover, it is more economical to keep bees. India, for example, has been traditionally keeping bees and exporting about 70,000 tons of honey annually. To promote beekeeping inThailand is therefore not far-fetched. However, to begin beekeeping for a commercial scale, it is therefore more reasonable to begin with the Apis cerana. The development later on could help elevate the keeper’s financial gain to both community and national levels, befitting with the sufficiency economy philosophy introduced by His Majesty the King ofThailand. Once the development along the Sufficiency Economy schema is productive, it can transform into a very viable economies of scale, the idea of which this conceptual paper is exploring for development. Considerations of Traditional Asian Beekeeping Sufficiency Economy Looking at India exporting estimated 7,000 2 and China 80,000 3 tons of honey annually (Agrawal 2014) is a mind-boggling things for rural Thai people. What is more surprising is that Indian’s beekeeping is mostly traditional (Ibid. p. 138). It is almost an illusion to consider making something of that scale.The decline inChinese honey imported by theUS has given an opportunity to Thailand and a few neighboring countries 4 , with Thailand being considered a leading exporter by the US (US House of Representative 2010, p. 2). The challenge in stimulating beekeeping 1 Graduate School, Maejo University 2 After the EU lifted the ban on Indian honey in 2011, Indian honey exporting has surged continuously. 3 China is the largest exporter of honey in the world. However, the country is facing a downward trend due to their honey quality, honey faking and contamination (Newsletter of Alamance Beekeepers. March 2013). The figure is therefore only for comparison. See Statements of AmericanBeekeeping Federation to theUSHouse of Representatives, May 20, 2010). The US import of Chinese honey was down from 58,7000,000 pounds to less than 200,000 pounds yearly since 2009. 4 American Honey Producers Association states Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia as new key US importers (ibid. p. 2).