by Xinhua writers Chen Cong, Sun Xiaoyu, Meng Fanyu
HARBIN, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a face mask, Wu Shoujun carefully opens the lids of over 100 beehives, and the tiny creatures inside can finally dance in the air after months of hibernating.
"The black honeybee can withstand temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius," Wu said. When the weather gets warmer in spring, beekeepers pick a sunny day to open the hives outdoors, waiting for the bees to start working.
Wu is one of the villagers in Raohe County who have benefited from a flourishing beekeeping industry. This border county in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province boasts favorable geographical and climatic conditions for raising black honeybees. A national-level nature reserve was set up there in 1997 to conserve the species.
The last two decades have witnessed a drastic increase in the population of black honeybees. The number of beekeeping households in the county has also increased. Over 600 households are raising more than 50,000 bee swarms currently.
Working in her courtyard, local beekeeper Shen Xiaoli places dozens of beehives in rows, opens the lids, and carefully checks the bees waking up from hibernation.
"I raised over 50 hives and got more than 2,000 kg of honey last year," she said. The good yields and technical support from the local beekeeping cooperative have boosted Shen's confidence, and she plans to raise 20 more hives this year.
Over 100 cooperatives have been founded in the county to offer technical know-how to local beekeepers, thereby enhancing the quality and quantity of honey output.
Besides the cooperatives, local processing companies are also boosting the industry. There are currently 11 bee-product manufacturing enterprises in Raohe. They have developed over 120 products thanks to ongoing upgrades in manufacturing equipment and procedures.
In Raohe Black Bee Group, the production line is a hive of activity, with the conveyor belts transporting all kinds of bee products. As one of the local leaders in the industry, the company's annual output of honey tops 2,500 tonnes.
"This bottle of bee propolis capsules is one of our high-end products, and it effectively drove the company's overall sales growth with its high added value," said Jiang Wei, chairman of the company.
In terms of marketing, local enterprises sign purchase agreements with beekeepers in advance to secure sales.
"So far, we have signed purchase contracts with more than 100 beekeeping households," said Tang Yuefeng, chairman of Heilongjiang Northeast Black Bee Development Co., Ltd., which sold out 500 tonnes of honey last year.
Yu Yang, director of the management bureau of the black bee national nature reserve, said, "This year, we will aid farmers in constructing 20 demonstration beekeeping gardens by offering policy support to promote the development of the black honeybee industry." Enditem
(Intern Feng Xiaojie contributed to the story.)
