Organic honey produced in the Eğriçayır Highland of Mersin's Erdemli district received the gold medal at BIOMIEL 2015, an organic honey production competition in the Italian city of Bari. Celal Çay, the producer of the award-winning honey, told Anadolu Agency that 162 producers from 10 countries participated in the competition. "Our honey came second three times and third once during previous competitions. I am proud of our success this year," he said. Çay added that there are three main reasons why honey from the Taurus Mountains is some of the best. First, the weather is very dry in the Mediterranean region, causing plants to excrete less nectar. "This is why our honey has intense taste and flavor," Çay continued. The second reason is that the honey does not include any chemicals. "The rich flora of the Taurus Mountains is the third reason making the honey more tasteful," he said. Çay thinks that the rich flora of the Anatolian highlands is very suitable for organic apiculture and an important necessity for the export of high-quality bee products. Moreover, the award-winning honey has been exported to the Middle East this year. "We received offers from Japan and Korea. In previous years, the remains of agricultural pesticides were found in Turkish honey that was to be exported to Europe. This incident damaged Turkey's image in the honey industry," Çay stressed, adding the awards have positively changed the situation. Çay encouraged other organic honey producers in Turkey to attend similar competitions to promote Turkish honey abroad.