A honey festival was held in the village of Topçuköy on Sunday. Speaking at the opening of the festival, which was held for the first time this year, President Ersin Tatar stressed the importance of production.

The first of an annual honey festival was organized in cooperation with young beekeepers from the Topçuköy Beekeepers’ Union and the İskele Municipality with the aim of promoting beekeeping and health benefits of honey.

President Ersin Tatar, the Speaker of the Republic’s Assembly Zorlu Töre, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, and the Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu were among those who attended the festival.

Speaking on behalf of the Topçuköy Beekeepers Association, Derviş Osum gave information about the history of the village, pointing out that 25 percent of the country’s honey was produced in Topçuköy.

The President of the Beekeepers’ Union Kırata Kasapoğlu for his part said that they were working to meet the country’s honey needs from Dipkarpaz to Yeşilırmak.

Also speaking, the Mayor of İskele Hasan Sadıkoğlu stated that as a municipality, they always supported producers.

The Minister of National Education Nazım Çavuşoğlu who also delivered a speech said that Topçuköy was very suitable for honey production adding that the village had a tradition of beekeeping that dated back a 100 years.

Reminding that he had attached great importance to beekeeping and paved the way for honey export during his term as Minister of Agriculture, Çavuşoğlu noted that since then the diversity and standards in beekeeping have increased.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu for his part said that beekeeping in Topçuköy was developing every passing day and thanked those who contributed to the realization of the festival.

The Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre stressed the importance of creating natural habitats for bees to foster honey production.

Töre noted that he had allowed beekeeping in the country to develop by introducing tariffs on honey imports during his term as a minister.

He also highlighted the importance of supporting local producers and products over imports.

Töre pointed out that the recent forest fires and drought have had a negative impact on beekeeping.

Also speaking at the festival, President Ersin Tatar said that İskele and the surrounding area was developing rapidly.

He explained that there was a duty tax imposed on imported honey to support local production and that the country’s honey needs were met from domestic producers who were making the necessary contributions and investments.

Stressing that locally produced honey was a source of healing and energy, President Tatar who noted that honey had been produced at Topçuköy for 132 years thanked those who contributed to the realization of the festival.