Building BusinessServices

Section 14

Natural honey

India’s exports: 207.97 US$ million · 2025-26

HS codes
1
top markets
5

How to start

  1. Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT online; it is free and linked to your PAN.
  2. Register with APEDA and get your RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate) through the DGFT e-RCMC system.
  3. Collect honey from registered beekeepers, process and test in a plant approved for export, and sell in bulk drums first.
  4. Keep beekeeper-level traceability records; US and EU buyers ask for them.

Top buyer countries

  1. United States157.78 US$ million · 2025-26
  2. United Arab Emirates15.92 US$ million · 2025-26
  3. Saudi Arabia5.21 US$ million · 2025-26
  4. Portugal3.91 US$ million · 2025-26
  5. Bangladesh2.13 US$ million · 2025-26

Certificates and registrations

  • APEDA RCMC
  • Export Inspection Council (EIC) certification for honey
  • Residue and adulteration tests (including NMR where the buyer asks) from an accredited lab

Watch out for

  • Exports are concentrated in the US; a US duty or adulteration case can stop orders.
  • Antibiotic residues and syrup adulteration are the main rejection reasons.

Businesses in the encyclopedia

Honey Processing and Bottling Plant →Honey Bee Farming (Beekeeping) →Bee Box Manufacturing Unit →

Sources (3)
  1. TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise export, 2025-26, US$ million — HS 0409
  2. TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise all countries export, HS 0409, 2025-26, US$ million · 2025-26
  3. HBP Appendix 2T — List of EPCs / Commodity Boards (DGFT), via research/export-import.json · 2023