Chiayi County Evaluates Domestic Longan Honey, 'Premium Fresh' Image Doubles Prices

(Central News Agency reporter Cai Zhiming, Chiayi County, 11th) The Chiayi County Farmers' Association today held a quality evaluation for domestic longan honey, selecting 5 Grand Prize winners and 13 First Prize winners. Huang Zhenyu, Director-General of the Chiayi County Farmers' Association, stated that the evaluations over the years have built a 'safe, honest, and local' premium image, allowing award-winning honey prices to double.

Commissioned by the Chiayi County Government, Huang told a Central News Agency reporter that due to climate change in recent years, nectar sources have been unstable, leading to frequent honey production shortages and making it impossible to hold evaluations annually. This year, there was initially a risk of insufficient entries, but beekeepers actively participated, allowing the event to continue. The main reason is that award-winning honey from previous years saw its selling price double, and beekeepers did not want to miss out on the profit opportunity.

She mentioned that a winning beekeeper once told her that Grand Prize honey is in high demand and can sell for three times the original listed price. The Farmers' Association also purchases a portion, ensuring the honey sells at a good price and remains in short supply.

A beekeeper surnamed Huang from Zhongpu Township, who has participated in the evaluation multiple times, said that after competing, the honey gains the endorsement of national-level standard testing and evaluation labels, which greatly increases consumer trust in the product and doubles the number of inquiries.

The association invited multiple food science experts and sensory evaluation scholars to form a professional jury, conducting in-depth assessments of key indicators such as honey moisture, color, aroma, taste, and purity. Winners were selected from among 20 to 30 participants.

The association stated that all participants are members of production and marketing teams and are professional beekeepers with traceable agricultural product QR codes. To ensure the highest quality, the evaluation process is strictly divided into two stages. The preliminary stage requires passing tests for zero residues of 11 antibiotics and 412 pesticides before advancing to the final evaluation. (Editor: Li Mingzong) 1150611