Turkey retains 3/4 of the world's honey flora. This rich flora, coupled with suitable ecology and colony presence, provide the country with a significant beekeeping potential.

Since beekeeping is not an agricultural sector that depends on land, it can be a means of living by itself for farmers who own little to no arable land. As beekeeping is an easy and enjoyable activity that can be started with a little capital and yields return in a short time span, it serves as an attractive agricultural activity.

Despite the fact that its importance has not been appreciated yet in Turkey, products such as pollen, bee resin, beeswax, bee venom and royal jelly are among the most valuable beekeeping products along with honey. According to the statistics of 1999, there are 4,202,300 colonies in Turkey and an average of 75 thousand metric tonnes of honey and 3,800 metric tonnes of beeswax were produced.

The contribution of beekeeping products to the national economy is about TL 160 trillion. As the contribution of beekeeping to the national economy through pollination is around 10 to 12 times that of pure beekeeping products, it is estimated to be around TL 1.5 to 2 quadrillion. This sector also provides employment opportunities for 150 thousand people.