Beegift Products and Services Company, situated in Dodoma, continues to grow its market and this is the company’s third export after Kenya and Uganda.
A beekeeping company owned by young Tanzanians has secured a new export market for bee products, thanks to the government’s initiatives for opening up opportunities abroad. The Dodoma-based Beegift Products and Services Company will start exporting bee products to South Africa in July this year, the company said on march 31.
South Africa becomes the third export market for the company after Kenya and Uganda. Last year, the company exported over 8.5 tonnes to the two neighbouring countries.
The chief executive officer for Beegift Products and Services, Mr Stephano Kileo, said that the company grabbed the South African market opportunity during a recent International Organisation of Beekeeping Associations (Apimondia) conference that was held in Durban.
During the conference, Mr Kileo said, they received orders to export 20 tones after every 60 days.
“Tanzanian honey has received excellent feedback from end users in foreign markets,” he said.
This, he said, was because local producers have managed to consider and maintain the quality of honey for all seasons of the year.
He said that having secured the South African market, the plan now was to expand to China after the government announced opportunities for local beekeepers to export bee products to such areas.
However, despite the potential and export opportunities available in the beekeeping sub-sector, 90 percent of smallholder farmers are still using traditional beehives, which are not economical, so more effort should be taken by stakeholders.
