José María Morelos, Quintana Roo — A lack of infrastructure for processing and marketing honey has kept Quintana Roo’s beekeeping sector from reaching its full potential, prompting producers and academics to push for a strategy to strengthen the value chain and open new markets.
José Eduardo Moo Pat, a member of the Maya Cruzoob Beekeeping Network, said the initiative follows a meeting between the Quintana Roo Beekeeping Innovation Center and an international company interested in learning about processes developed at the university.
Moo Pat explained that beekeepers in the state have historically focused on primary production and collection, while processing and marketing have remained underdeveloped for decades. This gap has prevented honey from achieving greater added value within the state, he said.
One of the goals of the Beekeeping Innovation Center is to build infrastructure for transformation, packaging, quality control, and traceability, aiming to serve both the domestic market and the existing bulk export market, Moo Pat said.
Regarding the approach with the visiting company, he clarified that it is not yet a commercial agreement but an evaluation phase in which technical capabilities, administrative processes, tax compliance, and available volume will be presented — elements needed to determine whether conditions exist for a future relationship.
Moo Pat added that much of Quintana Roo’s honey marketing still depends on buyers based in Yucatán and established wholesale schemes. He said it is necessary to build alternatives that integrate the entire production chain and generate greater opportunities for the state’s beekeepers.
