KIGALI, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan entrepreneur Grace Mbabazi has spent years producing and selling honey in the domestic market. Now, she is setting her sights on a market that once seemed beyond reach: China.

Her ambitions are gaining momentum thanks to the China International Import Expo (CIIE) and China's zero-tariff policy for 53 African countries, which offer new opportunities for Rwandan honey to reach Chinese consumers.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Mbabazi, founder and chief executive officer of M&M Sozo Ltd., a honey-producing company based in Kigali's Kicukiro District, said the CIIE had helped her company explore the Chinese market by providing direct access to Chinese buyers, importers, distributors and business partners.

Rwanda has participated in all eight previous editions of the CIIE since the expo's launch in 2018, with honey among its featured products. The country has also designated honey as its priority product under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' One Country One Priority Product initiative.

According to data released in 2022 by the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, the country has approximately 120,000 beekeepers operating across five major beekeeping zones, including Akagera National Park and Kigali City.

As M&M Sozo Ltd. prepares to showcase its honey products at the ninth CIIE, scheduled for Nov. 5 to 10 in Shanghai, Mbabazi looks back on her first participation in 2024 as a valuable stepping stone toward the Chinese market.

Mbabazi said the expo gave her a rare opportunity to introduce her products to an international audience, raise brand awareness, engage with potential customers, importers, and distributors, and gain a better understanding of the Chinese market.

"Our experience at the CIIE showed that the expo can help local businesses build commercial partnerships and introduce products such as honey to Chinese consumers," she said.

Mbabazi highlighted the free exhibition booths, "green channel" arrangements for products exported to China, and other preferential measures available to exhibitors from Rwanda and several other African countries, saying these policies could help businesses reduce marketing and participation costs.

Such support enables her company to showcase its honey to Chinese buyers and international visitors while allocating more resources to product development, packaging, and business promotion.

She also described China's zero-tariff policy as "a big motivation," saying it offered Rwanda "a good opportunity to increase honey exports."

Mbabazi hopes to capitalize on the policy to "use the potential savings from eligible tariff-free imports to improve price competitiveness, negotiate attractive commercial terms, and reinvest in business expansion."

Her immediate goal is to build long-term relationships with importers and distributors in China, creating a reliable market for her honey, increasing export volumes, and raising the company's international profile.

Producing seven tons of honey monthly, the company now works with 36 permanent beekeepers as well as several outgrowers across various districts of the country.

Since its inception in 2018, the company has expanded its operations to almost all districts in the Eastern Province, working mainly with women and young people. Mbabazi aims to increase the number of beehives associated with the business from 5,000 to approximately 25,000 by 2028.

At this year's CIIE, the company plans to showcase two signature products, Sozo Pure Gold Honey and Sozo Pure Natural Honey, both produced in Rwanda. Mbabazi said the products stand out for their natural production process: the honey is collected straight from beehives and sold without heating, processing, or pasteurization.

"Our beehives are located in forests where no pesticides are used," she emphasized.

As the business grows, Mbabazi hopes to create greater economic opportunities for the beekeepers who supply her company. She said the prospect of higher earnings for beekeepers has reinforced the importance of accessing larger markets, including China.

Looking ahead, she hopes to establish a reliable and sustainable honey supply chain from Rwanda to China, increase export revenue, and build lasting business relationships with Chinese partners.