TUPELO, Ark.
(AP) It’s been a long wait for honey and blueberries in Arkansas.
And the state is trying to get its own.
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture says it plans to open a new store and warehouse in Tupelo, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Little Rock, on Tuesday.
That means there won’t be much honey and tupelo for months.
Honey and blueberry production in Arkansas has been booming, but they’re not being sold at the store.
The state is now importing about two-thirds of the country’s supply.
The U.S. has about 40 percent.
The state said it’ll be using a combination of the new store to sell the berries and the new warehouse to process the products.
Harmonica honey has been the mainstay of the state’s blueberry and honey industry for more than a century.
Arkansas also imports about a third of the world’s honey.
It’s one of the few states that sells its own products, as well as imported products from Canada and Mexico.
Hoover-Chevron Honey Company in Tupelo has been making blueberries and honey for more a century, but its products are mostly imported from other states.
Hazmat officials say they’ve inspected the plant and its equipment and found no leaks or problems.
A state agency says the Tupeloc Honey Store will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., from Monday to Thursday, and from Friday to Saturday.