WORLD / ASIA-PACIFIC
Hive of conflict
By AFP Published: May 11, 2021 06:13 PM 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 prestigious product that can fetch hundreds of dollars per jar.
Beekeeper Sven Stephan processes honeycombs at an apiary in the New South Wales town of Somersby, Australia, on April 20. Photos: AFPManuka 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.
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Australia, New Zealand clash over manuka honey label
Australian producers deny there is a difference in the quality of their honey. (File photo: AFP/Gregory PLESSE)
11 May 2021 11:05AM Share this content
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SOMERSBY, Australia: 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.
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.
Australia, NZ clash over manuka honey label
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published : 11 May 2021 at 09:45
15 Australian production of manuka honey could soon be dealt a heavy blow, with a group of New Zealand producers launching proceedings in multiple countries to register the term and claim its exclusive use
SOMERSBY, Australia: 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.
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.
It s all about the money honey: Australia, NZ clash over manuka kuwaittimes.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kuwaittimes.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Bee keepers are warning that a trademark stoush over the right to use the word âmanukaâ could set a damaging precedent if a New Zealand tribunal bans Australian producers from marketing their products under that term.
The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand is due to consider an application by the Manuka Honey Appellation Society (MHAS), which represents a group of New Zealand producers, for a certification mark on the word âmanukaâ. The Australian Manuka Honey Association is opposing the application.
The New Zealand government is attempting to prevent Australian beekeepers from marketing their products as âmanukaâ.
Credit:Wolter Peeters