The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) has announced that the 14th Omani Honey Market will go digital and conducted online from June 28 to July 4. 

The ministry stated that the 14th honey market, which called is ‘Shahed’, will be launched in cooperation with Riyadh Digital company.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, an MoAF official said, “The market will run online for seven days. The goal of this market is to popularise Omani agricultural products, reach out to foreign markets and open up new markets.” 

He added, “We have invited a lot of beekeepers from different parts of the sultanate to participate in this e-market. It will bring together apiarists and Omani honey sellers to present their products and highlight one of the most important products in the agricultural sector.”

“Apiarists usually inherit the profession from their parents and grandparents. The honey products will be tested by food experts to ensure the quality of the products before being displayed at the market.”

Omani Honey Market has rapidly developed into a profitable business for thousands of apiarists actively involved in the industry. The ministry has organised honey markets since 2014. Sales jumped by 15.7 per cent in 2019 over 2018. 

The sales from the 13th Omani Honey Market, which was held in December 2019 at the Muscat Grand Mall reached RO142,026 while the market organised in June 2019 saw sales of RO99,000, taking the total for 2019 to RO241,026.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries statistics, the number of beekeepers in the sultanate reached 5,336 with 112,068 honeycombs that produced 672,208kg of honey in 2018.