The new state standard is aimed at improving the quality of queen bee breeding, regulating the production process based on uniform requirements, and enhancing selection and breeding activities.

The Azerbaijan Standardization Institute (AZSTAND), a public legal entity operating under the State Agency for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has adopted a new state standard in the field of apiculture: AZS 1004:2026 — “Queen Bee — Technical Specifications.”

The standard establishes uniform requirements for the production, evaluation of biological and breeding characteristics, marking, packaging, transportation, storage, and circulation of queen bees. Its adoption is aimed at improving the quality of queen bee breeding across the country and ensuring consistent requirements throughout the production process.

The implementation of the standard will establish uniform technical requirements for queen bee production, promote the breeding of high-quality and productive queens, preserve the distinctive characteristics of specific breeds and populations, maintain stable biological indicators, and enhance the quality and reliability of queen bees supplied to consumers.

The standard will also facilitate the objective assessment of the biological and morphological characteristics of queen bees, support selection and breeding activities on a scientific basis, contribute to the preservation of the local bee gene pool, and promote the development of highly productive and disease-resistant bee colonies.

The draft state standard was adopted based on proposals submitted by the Technical Committee for Standardization on “Animal Husbandry, Poultry Farming, Apiculture, Fisheries, Sericulture and Feed Production” (AZSTAND/TC 24), established under AZSTAND on the basis of the Scientific Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Following its adoption, the standard was included in the State Fund of Normative Documents on Standardization.