All about the money honey: Australia, New Zealand clash over manuka label
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"Manuka" label
Beekeepers in New Zealand are seeking the exclusive right to use the "manuka" label for their honey, pitting them against rival Australian farmers over a prestige product that can fetch hundreds of dollars per jar.
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Claim for exclusive use
Manuka honey takes its name from the Maori term for Leptospermum scoparium, the flowering shrub whose nectar forms its essence, which is found in both Australia and New Zealand.
But Australian production could soon be dealt a heavy blow, with a group of New Zealand producers launching proceedings in multiple countries to register the term "manuka" and claim its exclusive use.
But Australian production could soon be dealt a heavy blow, with a group of New Zealand producers launching proceedings in multiple countries to register the term "manuka" and claim its exclusive use.
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Devastating effects
If they are successful, it would be devastating for Australian producers like Ana Martin and Sven Stephan.
Last year they bought land where a crop of Leptospermum scoparium was growing in Somersby, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Sydney, installing around 50 hives on the side of a hill.
Last year they bought land where a crop of Leptospermum scoparium was growing in Somersby, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Sydney, installing around 50 hives on the side of a hill.
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Greater margins
The couple have almost 300 hives across several locations along the coast of New South Wales.
"Being a beekeeper is a seven-day-a-week job," Martin told AFP. "And the returns are limited. With manuka though, the margins are greater."
"Being a beekeeper is a seven-day-a-week job," Martin told AFP. "And the returns are limited. With manuka though, the margins are greater."
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Direct sale online
They sell their honey directly at markets, and increasingly now, over the internet. At the end of the first season at Somersby, they collected 2.5 tonnes of manuka honey, Martin said.