‘Nigeria needs residue monitoring plan in order to export honey’

In compliance to global regulatory standards, the European Union (EU) in its bid to support Nigeria’s economic diversification and non-oil export earnings said the Federal Government must have, and submit to its residue monitoring plan in order to be able to export its honey to EU countries.

The residue monitoring plan for honey export comprises undertaking situational analysis, collection of official sampling procedures, sampling level and frequency, methods of analysis, conformance of the sample, traceability and production plans.

This directive by the EU body is coming on the heels of various concerns raised by key stakeholders in the honey industry, at a sensitisation workshop held recently in Abuja, which was organised to ensure that Nigeria has the eligibility to export honey to the EU market.

“For Nigeria to be enlisted to export honey to the European market, it must submit the residue monitoring plan,” said Fillipo Amato, counsellor and head of trade and economic section of the EU delegation to Nigeria and West Africa during the sensitisation program. 

“The plan will show that there is a regular testing of these products before they are exported, to avoid it containing possible dangerous residuals which could be in form of chemicals, veterinary medicine residuals, Pesticides,” he said. 

According to Amato, the kind of plan must be submitted, and there should be an authority taking a kind of lead in the country to ensure that the residual monitoring plan is correctly drafted and implemented.

On the efforts by the Nigerian government, Olusegun Awolowo, executive secretary of Nigeria Export Promotion Council said, “Nigeria’s quest to diversify its non-oil export has necessitated the need to harmonise its potential in non-traditional products such as honey and by products, with production in virtually all parts of the country.

Represented by Olajide Ibrahim, director, product development in the council, Awolowo said,” NEPC is determined to improve the quality of Nigerian honey and it’s by products through enhanced capacity-building of our beekeepers, processors and exporters which will ultimately lead to the certification of some selected key processors with a view to accessing the huge European Union and international markets.”

Meanwhile, with the increasing decline in non-oil exports and Nigeria’s government effort to diversify its economy away from oil, analysts believe Nigerian authorities should reach out more to key exporters of non-oil products and ensure they abide by the regulatory standards.

Shuaibu Gadu, a bee farmer who spoke to BusinessDay on the side lines of the event said, “The industry is not well regulated. Some of our members still cut corners to export through Ghana because of lack of structure in the country.”

“I have to go to the Council myself in their office in Plateau state, while they referred me to the headquarters for more information. The EU sent a representative who visited my farm last year in Plateau and had guided me on what to do to export to EU, even before this workshop,” Gadu said.

He further stated that the sensitisation workshop is coming at the right time and we are prepared to earn more money from the country. Now we have known the requirements of the EU and possible guidance by the NEPC.

It would be noted that world production of honey is put at 1.5 million tonnes; while China is the largest producer, accounting for one third of the production; Ethiopia is the 7th largest producer of honey in the world and largest in Africa- accounting for 55,000 tonnes.