Agoa sweetens Zambia’s honey export prospects

There’s a lucrative market for the
export of honey to the US – and
Zambian exporters are not making
the most of it.
That’s the view of ‘Transitional
Trade’ executive director
Jacqueline Musiitwa, quoted on
agoa.info.
Transitional Trade is an
American market linkage
organisation that operates in postconflict
African countries like
Liberia and Rwanda.
Musiitwa said the market for
honey in the US was abundant,
and wondered why Zambian
businessmen had not taken
advantage of the provisions of the
Africa Growth and Opportunity
Act (Agoa) to export honey to that
country.
Her organisation has embarked
on discussions with the Zambia
Development Agency (ZDA) with
a view to identifying small-scale
businessmen who
could be linked to the
American honey market
and other sectors.
“We will help SMEs to
access capital through partnerships
with American firms and focus
on linking them to investors that
have money to engage African
products that could be profitable.
Specifically, we are looking
at honey production in North
Western and Southern provinces.
Honey is easy. That is an area that
Zambia has not fully tapped into.
Opportunities are there. We are
talking to ZDA to make sure that
the message is heard across the
country.”
She said her organisation was
interested in linking Zambians to
financiers in the USA for projects
that were beneficial to local
communities.