{"id":443128,"date":"2026-01-28T14:52:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443128\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T14:52:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:52:24","slug":"afl-hero-buddy-franklins-sweet-new-career-takes-him-to-united-arab-emirates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443128\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL hero Buddy Franklin\u2019s sweet new career takes him to United Arab Emirates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buddy Franklin has been showcasing the sweet life to Middle Eastern honey eaters as exports of Western Australia\u2019s golden nectar explode under a new trade deal.<\/p>\n

The football legend and wife Jesinta Franklin became interested in honey after taking a beekeeping course on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re now co-owners of Honey For Life, one of WA\u2019s leading commercial beekeeping operations.<\/p>\n

Their products were among 8500 exhibits at the world\u2019s largest food trade show, Gulfood, held in the United Arab Emirates this week.<\/p>\n

Australian honey exports have surged 1200 per cent since last October, when a trade agreement with the UAE came into force.<\/p>\n

\"HoneyCamera IconHoney For Life co-owner Buddy Franklin and Trade Minister Don Farrell at the Gulfood trade show in the United Arab Emirates. Credit: supplied<\/p>\n

\u201cShowcasing our family-owned business Honey For Life at the Team Australia pavilion and entering the UAE market through (trade deal) CEPA marks a major milestone for our global growth,\u201d Franklin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to represent Australia at Gulfoods, showcasing premium, certified bioactive honey to a fast-growing Middle Eastern market that values quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my family and I, health and wellbeing come first \u2013 which is why Honey For Life is committed to producing pure, bioactive honey with proven benefits for households worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Honey has been part of Arab culture and Islamic tradition for centuries, due to its healing properties and as a symbol of gratitude and respect.<\/p>\n

\"BuddyCamera IconBuddy and Jesinta Franklin the faces of Honey For Life. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

Australian honey is highly regarded worldwide for its quality due to its biodiversity and purity.<\/p>\n

The sweet substance isn\u2019t the only WA export that has UAE consumers buzzing.<\/p>\n

In the first two months since the trade deal came into force, agribusiness and food exports from WA grew by $123 million \u2013 a rise of more than 220 per cent compared with the previous year.<\/p>\n

Canola exports were worth $104m, barley $15.2m and sheep meat $2.8m.<\/p>\n

Trade Minister Don Farrell, who led the delegation of 44 businesses to Gulfood, said the increase in trade meant more income for Australia\u2019s world-class producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our new trade deal eliminating tariffs on 99 per cent of exports to the UAE, it\u2019s easier than ever for Australian businesses like Honey For Life to access this thriving market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGulfood is an incredible opportunity for our producers and exporters to showcase their premium products to buyers across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year $21 billion worth of deals were done on the floor of Gulfood \u2013 and we\u2019re expecting an even better result this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buddy Franklin has been showcasing the sweet life to Middle Eastern honey eaters as exports of Western Australia\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,134,995,588,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-443128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-influencers","15":"tag-sport","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}