The Nigeria Export Promotion Council, NEPC, has trained over 250 farmers in Benue State in modern beekeeping to enhance production of natural honey for export to European Markets.
The Zonal Controller in charge of Makurdi Zonal office, Mr. Anani Ben- Egon, while declaring the training open, said lack of strict sanitary requirements to guarantee the safety of honey for human health was responsible for the inability of Nigerian honey being exported to European markets.
Apart from the health and sanitary requirements restricting Nigeria’s honey export to the EU, Mr. Ben-Egon said the country’s low production volume is also a major constraint.
He said the global honey trade is worth $240 billion, with China as the world’s largest exporter with 11 per cent of global export in 2017 worth $270.7 million.
He said the continuous engagement with product/industry associations, farmers’ groups and other relevant stakeholders would enhance the production of honey suitable for export to the EU market.
Accordingly, he said the Apiculture Value chain export development programme is in line with the initiative of the Nigerian Apiculture platform .
He said the objective of the programme is to foster the development of the sector by supporting beekeepers and processors with the necessary inputs and creating the required policies to drive the development processes for the industry.
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In his address, the state Coordinator, National Committee on Export Promotion and Benue Exporters Cluster, Lawrence Barki, expressed gratitude to NEPC for training bee farmers on how to produce quality honey that would be needed in Europe.
He stated that there could be no better time than now to encourage Nigerian bee farmers in line with the Federal Government’s diversification policy and the development of the non-oil sector of the nation’s economy.
Speaking on the topic, “Development of Secondary Raw Materials for Bee Combs (Wax),” the Country Representative of Koster Keunen, Mohammed Bala, said that bee wax can be used in both cosmetics and medical industry.
He said honey is a big commodity in the European market and urged the farmers to tap into it by cultivating the habit of farming bees at all times.
A bee development expert, Mr. Annyon Desmond, who spoke on the topic, “Development of Honey Bee Products for Export,” said that the need for an alternative source of national revenue apart from crude oil had become imperative for Nigerians.
He maintained that beekeeping has a vast potential to boost Nigeria’s export base hence the demand for honey across the globe.
In separate goodwill messages, the representatives of Standard Organization of Nigeria, NAFDAC, SMEDAN, RMRDC, NEXIMBank, among others pledged to support bee farmers in the country to improve on the Apiculture value chain practice and handling method that would help in the exportation of Nigeria honey to EU markets.
The one-day Export Sensitization and Capacity Building seminar was organized by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, in collaboration with the Benue State Bee Keepers Association in Makurdi.
