South Sudan exports first honey product: official

South Sudan said Tuesday that it exported its first honey product last year, marking a breakthrough for its nascent honey industry.

The Undersecretary for Industry in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Elizabeth Manoa Majok, told journalists in Juba that so far about 1,500 small scale farmers had benefited from the honey industry.

"We are very happy to know today that a product from South Sudan has reached Japan. They are buying honey from the community here. More than 1,500 farmers have benefited," she said.

She said the country would no longer rely 98 percent on oil to finance its fiscal budget as it is trying to develop other products like peanuts and sesame products to diversify its economy.

South Sudan exported 100kg of honey to Japan in December last year, and over 30 metric tons to Kenya, according to the director of Honey Care Africa South Sudan, Matata Safi.

"South Sudan imports everything from the region, but if we have local companies that manufacture from here, we can save on our hard currency," Safi told Xinhua.

He however said the ongoing conflict in Equatoria region, where most of their farmers operate, had affected the honey business.

As renewed fighting between South Sudan's rival political factions broke out last July, the official feared that many of the farmers had been displaced by the violence.

"The challenge is that the honey we have been selling is what we collected last year. Most of the farmers should have gone in exile." Safi said. Endit