Apiculture NZ says the future focus of the industry is finding markets for what is seen as a glut of honey.
Chair Bruce Wills says the industry's recent three-day conference was a mixture of positive news and challenges. But it was honey exports that took centre stage.
In the year ended 2020, New Zealand earned $505 million from honey exports, but the outlook for this season is not good. In MPI's (Ministry for Primary Industries) latest report on the state of the primary sector, the bad news is spelt out with honey exports predicted to be down almost $1 million by 2025.
However, the problem is worse, with an estimated 20,000 tonnes of unsold honey being held in beekeepers' sheds around the country. This honey mountain is equivalent to about a year of production.
Wills says this all goes back to the controversy over what is and isn't mānuka honey.
www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz
Chair Bruce Wills says the industry's recent three-day conference was a mixture of positive news and challenges. But it was honey exports that took centre stage.
In the year ended 2020, New Zealand earned $505 million from honey exports, but the outlook for this season is not good. In MPI's (Ministry for Primary Industries) latest report on the state of the primary sector, the bad news is spelt out with honey exports predicted to be down almost $1 million by 2025.
However, the problem is worse, with an estimated 20,000 tonnes of unsold honey being held in beekeepers' sheds around the country. This honey mountain is equivalent to about a year of production.
Wills says this all goes back to the controversy over what is and isn't mānuka honey.
Honey in sticky spot
Apiculture NZ says the future focus of the industry is finding markets for what is seen as a glut of honey. Chair Bruce Wills says the industry's recent three-day conference was a mixture of positive news and challenges. But it was honey exports that took centre stage. In the year ended 2020, Ne...
www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz