The " Honey " War !

We are heading into a spat with our neighbour across the Tasman over the use of the word " Manuka honey " in the important Chinese export market.  New Zealand is claiming exclusive right to that word because it  is intrinsically connected to the Maori people.

Manuka honey is claimed to have antibacterial properties which is not present in regular honey.  If this name is protected to the New Zealand producers, the Australian bee industry would be locked out of the ever growing Chinese market.  The Kiwi's are planning to spend six million dollars to finance their campaign.

Commercial honey production in the southern hemisphere started when European honey bees were   introduced to both Australia and New Zealand with the arrival of early settlers.  Manuka honey is produced when the bees visit the flowers and collect nectar from Leptospertmum  Scoparium trees that are common to both Australia and New Zealand.

" Manuka " is the Maori word for " honey " but this word has also been used to describe honey in Tasmania since 1884.  It is now sought after because of the belief that it contains antibacterial properties that are not present in other forms of honey.  That has established it as an important ingredient in the expansive Chinese pharmaceutical market.

This claim is being made by the Manuka Honey Appellation  Society (MHAS ) which represents a New Zealand group of bee keepers and honey packers, on the grounds that the word description is the property of the Maori and is connected to the New Zealand  consumer psyche.

The Australian Manuka Honey Association weighs in with a statement that  the industry is not restricted from using the word " Manuka " to describe honey because the plant is exactly the same as the one they grow in New Zealand and the honey produced is the same, and that has been scientifically tested independently.

Rather strong language has been flowing across the Tasman in support of this claim.   One Kiwi minister has accused Australia of " economic larceny ".   It is thought that European bees arrived here about 1822 and the Tasmanian honey product came to be known as " Manuka " from 1884 to describe the honey collected from bees that visit this particular tree, which is common on both sides of the Tasman.

It might be in the interests of both parties to call a truce and seek to protect that word - " Manuka " - to the product of both the antipodean countries, from other parts of the world which do not have the tree growing naturally, producing both the individual flavour and the medical properties that add to its value.

The amount of honey produced in either country is finite and unlikely to ever completely satisfy the giant Chinese market.   That six million dollars would be better spent developing a world market for this remarkable honey which is collected from trees which fortuitously only grow in Australia and New Zealand.