ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – War in Iraq is a buzzkill for honey production in the country.

The region's honey products have rapidly decreased due to Turkish airstrikes against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) near Qandil Mountain, as well as high temperatures, said Ahmed Pishdari, head of the Kurdistan Beekeepers Association.

Pishdari explained to Rudaw on Sunday the process of producing honey and the negative consequences of importing honey to Kurdistan.

“In comparison to the previous years, the production of honey has decreased in Kurdistan,” said Pishdari, adding that “the continued Turkish bombings on the outskirts of Qandil Mountain and the rise in the temperature level have damaged the honey products,” said Pishdari.

“According to the bee and planet protection department in the town of Sangasar, on the Qandil outskirts, there are more than 20,000 hives. Last year more than 80 tons of honey was produced in the region. This year the portion has decreased to around 20 to 40 tons.”

There are several factors behind the decline of honey production, including climate change, using anti-larva pesticides, and the incineration of flowers and plants due to the Turkish bombings on the Qandil Mountain.

“Due to airstrikes there is no longer nectar from flowers, which is the bee’s main food, and even beekeepers have lost an enormous number of bees from remaining airstrikes,” Pishdari said.

Kurdistan region honey has won multiple first place awards in world festivals, like the one in Najaf, and its products are often exported to other countries. Despite that, honey is still being imported to the region, Pishdari said, explaining that actual bees are also being imported from Iran, Turkey and Egypt.

Pishdari warns Kurdish beekeepers not to rely on foreign bees because “the environment of these counties is different from Kurdistan, and after a while all the foreign bees will die.”

Rudaw