Dense winter fog and low temperatures in Sirajganj are slowing mustard honey collection as bees avoid wet flowers, threatening harvest targets and causing growing losses for beekeepers.
Winter fog and low temperatures are disrupting honey collection in Sirajganj’s mustard fields, one of Bangladesh’s key honey-producing regions. Beekeepers report that bees stay in their hives when flowers are wet from fog, slowing honey production and breeding activities.
Ullapara Upazila leads the country in mustard cultivation, with about 24,605 hectares planted this season, mainly in the Cholon Bil area. Around 127 companies are set to collect honey here, but the dense fog is causing delays and losses for farmers and beekeepers.
Asha Alo Food Products, operating in Ali village, Borpangasi Union, is using 150 bee boxes, each housing 20,000 to 50,000 bees. Owner Abdur Rashid, a beekeeper for nearly four decades, told the Daily Sun that weekly honey harvests of around 600 kilograms are valued at 130,000 taka, or about 1,530 US dollars. He said that during fog, bees do not forage and breeding stops, affecting both honey and bee sales and causing losses of about 2,000 taka per box.
Rashid usually sells a bee box for 10,000 taka, with smaller five-frame boxes priced at 5,500 taka. The Department of Agricultural Extension provides training on honey collection, pest management and equipment use to support local farmers. Suborna Yasmin, the agricultural officer of Ullapara, said that this season they expect about 200,000 kilograms of honey, valued at 50 to 60 million taka, or roughly 580,000 to 700,000 US dollars. She added that beekeeping plays a significant role in improving livelihoods in the area.
Honey harvesting in the region typically occurs between December and February. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department reported a minimum temperature of nine degrees Celsius in Sirajganj on Saturday and forecast dense fog from midnight to afternoon in northern and riverine areas. Fog reduces the day-night temperature difference, intensifying the cold and further affecting honey collection.
As climate patterns shift and winters grow harsher, local beekeepers warn that such disruptions may become more frequent, threatening both production and income in Bangladesh’s northern plains.
