Why Turkey’s honey production is going sour

Turkey’s honey production has steadily increased this century, rising from 61,000 tons of honey annually in 2000 to 106,000 tons. This makes Turkey the second-biggest producer after China.

But this impressive growth is marred by allegations of fake honey that buzz in the sector — revealed both in chemical analysis by the Ministry of Agriculture and suspicious price differences in different brands of honey on supermarket shelves. Good, undiluted honey is relatively expensive around the world, with one of the costliest global honey brands, Manuka Honey from New Zealand, costing around $30 for a 250-gram (8.8-ounce) jar. In Turkey, Anzer honey, whose fans call it the best in the world, can cost as much as 900 Turkish liras a kilo ($120 a pound). The average cost of honey in big market chains is 30-50 liras a kilo (about $4-$6.75 a pound). However, it is also possible to find honey for 10-15 liras a kilo, particularly in open bazaars. According to honey producers and their associations, there is a good chance that these sweet bargains are not real honey at all.

What is fake honey and how is it made? What is the difference between real and fake honey?

Real honey is made by bees that fly from flower to flower, gathering nectar with their long, tube-shaped tongue and storing it in their extra stomach, or "crop." There, the nectar mixes with enzymes that transform its chemical composition and pH. The honey comes from the nectar that bees have collected, regurgitated and dehydrated to enhance its nutritional properties. It is mostly harvested in the fall and most beekeepers leave enough honey in the hives to sustain the bees until spring, when they can fly from flower to flower to make honey again. However, many beekeepers feed sugar or high fructose corn syrup to bees during the winter because it is cheaper.