THERE WILL be little or no thyme honey harvested this year as a result of the drought over the past three years.
Many of the island’s thyme bushes have been destroyed as a result of the prolonged drought and the cultivation of previously fallow land. Last winter’s rainfall was not enough to revive the crop and as a result bees were unable to absorb enough nectar to produce their famous thyme honey.
Beekeepers say they have found very little thyme honey in the beehives this season and what they have is hardly worth harvesting.
President of the Beekeepers Association, Pambos Christodoulou, said that normally the beekeepers would be harvesting thyme honey in August “but the bad weather of recent years and the uprooting of thyme by farmers have reduced the thyme crop and bees are unable to find enough flowers”.
He added that in most beehives there are only one or two pounds of honey and in some none at all, “with such quantities it is not worth harvesting it”.
“This situation is very bad for all of us” Christodoulou said “It is too dry and the thyme bushes have been completely destroyed. The damage is too great to hope for an improvement. Unfortunately this means there is no honey.”
“Not only is there no thyme honey but the harvest of orange blossom honey in April and May also yielded very little.”
“We don’t know what to do” he added, “We have asked for a meeting with the Minister for Agriculture to ask for help, we are expecting an answer soon.”
Regarding the crystallization of honey Christodoulou explained that it was a natural reaction. It occurs when the sugars in honey begin to break down. He said that when honey crystallizes and congeals at the bottom of the container many consumers presume it is spoiled or of bad quality. But in fact “this is a natural process of honey, which may happen after a few days or months. It doesn’t mean anything; it is just a few crystals which dissolve when the honey is heated.”
The Association of Beekeepers will be presenting honey that has crystallized at the Agricultural Fair in October, so that consumers understand the phenomenon. Christodoulou noted that some people actually prefer the crystallized honey.
Christodoulou added that Cypriot honey is more viscous than honey from other countries, due to the weather and the moisture in the beehives.
“The honey currently in the beehives is fairly fluid, but it will become more viscous as we move towards winter” he explained.
