Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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 yesterday.
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, told The Citizen yesterday 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 tonnes 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 were still using traditional beehives, which are not economical, so more effort should be taken by stakeholders.
Mr Kileo said in order to solve the challenge facing smallholder farmers who fail to commercialise the beekeeping business, his company has embarked on the construction of modern beehives. The company would also expand investment in the sector.
The company’s workshop has the capacity to produce 400 modern beehives per month.
Beegift Products and Services Company will conduct training for farmers with the aim of educating them about opportunities available in beekeeping and other products that they can sell apart from honey and beeswax.
“We have decided to come up with such an initiative because 60 percent of our honey comes from smallholder farmers,” he said.
The company established a demo farm in Dodoma in 2019.
Since then, it has produced more than 200 beehives, which have the capacity to produce 80 kilogrammes of pollen and more than 5 tonnes of natural honey per month.
The company also produces other bee products, including bee pollen, beeswax, royal jelly, propolis, purified candles, and bee venom, which Mr Kileo says earns more money than just honey.
“For example, one kilogramme of royal jelly costs Sh20 million, while that of bee pollen costs between Sh200,000 and Sh300,000,” he said.
“Besides, it only takes a few days to harvest, so that is why we encourage smallholder farmers to engage in this sector.”
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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns
Several airports have since locked Air Tanzania, dealing a severe blow to the Tanzanian national carrier that must now work overtime to regain its certification or go the wet lease way
The European Commission has announced the inclusion of Air Tanzania on the EU Air Safety List, effectively banning the airline from operating in European airspace.
The decision, made public on December 16, 2024, is based on safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which also led to the denial of Air Tanzania’s application for a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.
The Commission did not go into the specifics of the safety infringement but industry experts suggest it is possible that the airline could have flown its Airbus A220 well past its scheduled major checks, thus violating the airworthiness directives.
“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.
“We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards.”
Air Tanzania has a mixed fleet of modern aircraft types including Boeing 787s, 737 Max jets, and Airbus A220s.
It has been flying the B787 Dreamliner to European destinations like Frankfurt in Germany and Athens in Greece and was looking to add London to its growing list with the A220.
But the ban not only scuppers the London dream but also has seen immediate ripple effect, with several airports – including regional like Kigali and continental – locking out Air Tanzania.
Tanzania operates KLM alongside the national carrier.
The European Commission said Air Tanzania may be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
A wet lease is where an airline pays to use an aircraft with a crew, fuel, and insurance all provided by the leasing company at a fee.
Two more to the list
The EU Air Safety List, maintained to ensure passenger safety, is updated periodically based on recommendations from the EU Air Safety Committee.
The latest revision, which followed a meeting of aviation safety experts in Brussels from November 19 to 21, 2024, now includes 129 airlines.
Of these, 100 are certified in 15 states where aviation oversight is deemed insufficient, and 29 are individual airlines with significant safety deficiencies.
Alongside Air Tanzania, other banned carriers include Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), and Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran).
Commenting on the broader implications of the list, Tzitzikostas stated, “Our priority remains the safety of every traveler who relies on air transport. We urge all affected airlines to take these bans seriously and work collaboratively with international bodies to resolve the identified issues.”
In a positive development, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been cleared to resume operations in the EU following a four-year suspension. The ban, which began in 2020, was lifted after substantial improvements in safety performance and oversight by PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Since the TCO Authorisation was suspended, PIA and PCAA have made remarkable progress in enhancing safety standards,” noted Tzitzikostas. “This demonstrates that safety issues can be resolved through determination and cooperation.”
Another Pakistani airline, Airblue Limited, has also received EASA’s TCO authorisation.
Decisions to include or exclude airlines from the EU Air Safety List are based on rigorous evaluations of international safety standards, particularly those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
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The process involves thorough review and consultation among EU Member State aviation safety experts, with oversight from the European Commission and support from EASA.
“Where an airline currently on the list believes it complies with the required safety standards, it can request a reassessment,” explained Tzitzikostas. “Our goal is not to penalize but to ensure safety compliance globally.”
Airlines listed on the EU Air Safety List face significant challenges to their international operations, as the bans highlight shortcomings in safety oversight by their home regulatory authorities.
For Air Tanzania, this inclusion signals an urgent need for reform within Tanzania’s aviation sector to address these deficiencies and align with global standards.
The path forward will require immediate and sustained efforts to rectify safety concerns and regain access to one of the world’s most critical aviation markets.
Source: allafrica.com
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