Zooming in on Vietnam

Size

329,566 km². Vietnam stretches a long way north and south, sharing borders to the north with China and to the west with Cambodia and Laos.

The South China Sea lies to the south and east. The land is now mainly agricultural with a central tropical rainforest.

Population

64,411,668.

GNP

$198 per capita. Agriculture accounts for 40% of the GNP.

Main crops

The staple crop is rice although significant amounts of cassava, coffee, fruit, maize, sorghum, sugar and sweet potatoes are also grown.

Honey bees

Native species: Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis florea.

Non-native species: Apis mellifera was first introduced in 1947, but large scale importation took place in the early 1980s.

Beekeeping

There is a strong tradition of beekeeping with Apis cerana with each area of the country having its own system. Apis cerana are kept in log hives or frame hives. Upright log hives fitted with top-bars were first recorded in 1907.

Apis dorsata colonies are managed for honey production in the south in “Tram” Melaleuca leucadendron forest.

Frame hive beekeeping was introduced during the 1960s from China. Apis mellifera are kept exclusively in frame hives.

Number of beekeepers

18,000 keeping Apis cerana. For most people Apis cerana beekeeping this is part-time activity but there are beekeepers operating commerically with Apis cerana, mainly in the Mekong river delta. 900 keeping Apis mellifera: all commercial beekeepers. 350 collecting honey from Apis dorsata colonies.

Number of frame hives

1992 information: 70,000 with Apis mellifera; 45,000 with Apis cerana.

Melliferous vegetation

Vietnam has 8.5 hectares of forest and 7 m hectares of agricultural land. Important forage sources include: Euphoria longan, Eucalyptus spp, Gerbera piloselloides, Hevea brasiliensis, Nephelium litchi, Rhizophora conjugata, Ziziphus jujuba.

Honey production

1800 T per annum (1992), of which 1100 are exported. 200 T are collected from Apis dorsata. Apis cerana colonies yield up to 15 kg per annum, and more if migratory beekeeping is practised. Apis mellifera colonies yield up to 60 kg per annum: migratory beekeeping with this species is practised widely.

AAA Chapter

Bee Research Centre, Lang Ha, Dong Da, Hanoi.

Beekeeping department

Vietnam Bee Research Centre, Lang Ha, Dong Da, Hanoi.

There are also Bee Research Units at Can Tho University, Hanoi Agricultural College, Hanoi University, National Veterinary Institute, Plant Protection Institute and Thu-Duc Agroforestry University.

Journal

A quarterly journal Nganh Ong is published by the Vietnam Bee Research Centre. The journal is in Vietnamese with English summaries.

Projects

The National Bee Research Programme is co-ordinated by the Vietnam Bee Research Centre. Since 1987 assistance has been provided by KWT, The Netherlands Committee on Science and Technology for Vietnam. KWT has assisted particularly by improving awareness of honey quality and thereby helping beekeepers to obtain better prices for their honey.

Training

The Technical Board of the Central Honeybee Company is responsible for beekeeping extension work. It organises training courses, provides literature and answers technical enquiries.

Honey bee diseases

European foulbrood, Thai sacbrood virus, Tropilaelaps clareae, Varroa jacobsoni.

Previous articles

Newsletter 12: Hive-Aid.

Newsletter 15: Hive-Aid.

Newsletter 16: Beekeeping in Vietnam by Vincent Mulder.

Newsletter 17: Herbal treatment for Varroa.

More articles and papers are» held in the IBRA Library.