The Zambia Honey Council (ZHC) has received honey processing equipment aimed at boosting trade and improving quality of the products by Zambian beekeepers under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

This follows an agreement which was signed between the ZHC and United States (US)-based Mann-Lake Limited during the AGOA conference in Lusaka in June.

ZHC Business Development Manger MacDonald Kayuna said the equipment would facilitate increased and improved honey production in the country.

He said the equipment was being used as a pilot project and depending on the level of success, more would be acquired for use across the country.

He said the arrival of the equipment was an indication that the agreement had come to fruition and that it would benefit end users.

The processing equipment will help bee-keepers produce quality products that would meet the required standards for the US market.

Mr Kayuna said in an interview said there was need to upgrade current industry infrastructure and technology.

“Following the MoU signed during the AGOA with Mann -Lake limited we have received sample equipment. I can assure that the equipment is going to simplify the production process without compromising the quality of the product,” he said.

He said AGOA required that eligible countries improve production base and quality of products to meet the psytosanitary conditions.

Mr Kayuna said the honey sub-sector needed to overcome a number of challenges which included infrastructure development and low quality of products to fully exploit the international market.

Latest AGOA Trade Data currently available on AGOA.info


Click here to view a sector profile of Zambia's bilateral trade with the United States, disaggregated by total exports and imports, AGOA exports and GSP exports.

Other regularly updated trade statistics on AGOA.info include: (click each link to view)