By CHATULA KANGALI –
THE Government is considering exporting high value crops to the US under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The country has in the recent past  been exporting agriculture products which include groundnuts.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said in an interview that, her ministry was working on introducing high value crops like cotton, spices and honey, to be exported to the US under AGOA.
She said high value crops like spices which include garlic and onion, were easy to transport and more profitable compared to other crops.
“ There is an increasing  demand  of spices, cotton and honey  in the United States and in our  next round of  exports, we are considering  to have cotton, spices and honey. These products are of high value, they are easy to export because of the little packaging and are cheaper to transport.
“Products like honey and spices will not only  improve  the country’s foreign exchange  if  exported  to the US,  but will also help empower  the rural women that  are  involved  in bee keeping and garlic  growing ,” she said.
Ms Mwanakatwe said the country’s exports to the US had dropped recently, due to the high cost of transport.
“Transportation has been  our major challenge in exporting products to the US.  This time around, we are considering to have high value crops, like spices,cotton and honey which can easily be transported
in containers,” she said.
Government  was putting in place a proper mechanism to ensure the country’s exports under AGOA were increased.