Four Bosnians from Velika Kladuša manage the largest apiary in New York

Bajro Rekić from Velika Kladuša has been managing one of the largest apiaries in New York (SDA) for 11 years, which has between 2,000 and 2,500 beehives. Together with him at the giant beekeeping farm Finster Honey Farm, three more men from the Krajina region work: Hakija Pehlić, Muhamed Rekić and Samir Suljanović.

- The apiary we four manage is one of the largest in New York - says Bajro Rekić for the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

- Hakija was the first to come to this beekeeping farm, and then he brought the three of us. He is actually the brains behind all the work at this large apiary. I came last - he adds.

These four Bosnians, together with the owner of the apiary Filip Finster, travel thousands of kilometers every year in search of honey and other bee products, but also for fruit pollination. Bee products, primarily honey, they later sell to large buyers, who then sell their honey in markets across the USA.

- We produce up to 100 tons of honey every year, sometimes even more - says Rekić for NAP. That amount of honey is almost equal to one third of the honey that Bosnia and Herzegovina imports in one year.

Now is the time when bees are resting, but there is work at the apiary for these hardworking people throughout the year. Rekić explains that after the grazing season ends, there is honey extraction and packaging, preparing bees for the next season, cleaning and disinfecting beehives, melting old wax, repairing worn-out beehives, and much more.

Rekić believes that Bosnia and Herzegovina also has great potential when it comes to beekeeping. Young people, he believes, should start getting more involved in this business, which can bring them a decent income and a good life, writes NAP.