Saudi beekeepers blame Agriculture Ministry for losses

Speaking to Makkah newspaper, Khaled Al-Qurashi, an apiarist, said most Saudis who keep bees have reported some kind of damage caused by the diseases spread by imported bees.

“We have sent several complaints to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and explained to them that the imported bees carry diseases that are contagious. We also asked them to intensify quarantine procedures but no action has been taken until now, which is unfortunate,” he said.

Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, an apiarist, said bees imported from Egypt carry Varroa Mite, which is a deadly parasite that attacks and kills other bees. It is dangerous and can bring a lot of losses to local apiarists, he said while calling for the appointment of experts at all ports of entry to examine imported bees.

He also asked the authorities to take drastic measures against any importers of disease-carrier bees.

Khaled Al-Matraif, head of Makkah Apiary Society, agreed and said the ministry did not apply quarantine measures to imported bees despite many apiarists complaining about imported bees spreading diseases among local bees.

Dr. Omar Al-Fakeeh, director of agricultural affairs in Makkah Region, said all bees imported from abroad went through quarantine procedures at the ports and airports and were not cleared unless it had been proved that were are free from any diseases. He noted that most local apiarists were angry because the imported bees produced honey, which was less expensive.