TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 1,500 tons of honey was produced in Zanjan province during the past Iranian calendar year 1401 (ended on March 20).Presenting a report on the production of livestock, poultry, fishery, honey and egg products in the province, Mohammad-Baqer Haj-Kazemi, the director-general of the province’s Veterinary Department, said that Zanjan is one of the hubs of the country in the production of some of these products, including turkey, fishery and honey.Last month, the managing director of the beekeeping industry development support fund said this fund provides 170 billion rials (about $440,760) of low-interest facilities to beekeepers with the aim of helping the country's beekeeping industry.Based on the data released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Iran is the third-largest producer of honey in the world.The chairman of the Animal Science Research Institute has said that the amount of honey production in the country should be increased by three to four kilograms per colony.Mokhtar Mohajer said, “According to the Seventh National Development Plan, the amount of honey production should be increased by at least three to four kilograms per colony according to the diversity of plants and the area of pastures that we have in the country”.He announced that 8,300 kilograms of royal jelly, 406 tons of pollen, 2,536 tons of beeswax, 247 tons of propolis, and 3,917 grams of bee venom are produced annually in the country.MA