Australian, New Zealand honey producers fight over rights to Manuka

Australian producers have been alarmed by moves in New Zealand to trademark the word Manuka, a Bloomberg report said on Friday.

Despite the fact the plant grows natively in Australia, New Zealanders say the word, the plant and the honey the bees make it from is theirs.

Manuka honey is a popular and expensive product, thanks to endorsements from celebrities like Novak Djokovic and Kourtney Kardashian.

The honey is expensive because it is produced from a single plant which is the Leptospermum Scoparium.

More importantly for the honey industry, the product is in high demand in China, where middle--class shoppers are willing to pay a lot for honey from countries like Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand's Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) Honey Association spokesman John Rawcliffe said only honey produced by Kiwi bees deserves the Manuka moniker.

UMF's group of beekeepers, producers, and exporters accounts for about 80 percent of New Zealand's Manuka honey sales.

"The consumer expects that if it's Manuka honey, then it comes from New Zealand," Rawcliffe said.

"Manuka is a Maori word. We are aiming to protect it."

At present, New Zealand doesn't have a monopoly on Manuka, Executive Director of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Trevor Weatherhead said.

"We have exactly the same plant that they have," Weatherhead said, adding that made-in-Australia Manuka is similar in quality to the New Zealand's Manuka honey.

As for claims that the manuka name comes from New Zealand's Maori language, Weatherhead says the word has an Australian heritage too.

"We have evidence of the name Manuka being used in Tasmania for years," he said. "The New Zealanders are just looking for a marketing edge."

However, the UMF Honey Association last year submitted an application with the government to trademark the Manuka name, saying the move was "fundamental to protecting an internationally recognised premium product that is unique to New Zealand."

On Aug. 9, the association sponsored a symposium, called "This is Manuka," which featured scientists from New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China discussing the chemical identity of a true Manuka honey.

However, the Kiwis do have one big advantage though as the Manuka plant is not as common in Australia as it is in New Zealand, limiting the ability of the Australian industry to produce the high-end honey, Weatherhead said.

"They have large areas of (Manuka)," Weatherhead said. "Here (Australia), it's selective where we can get it." Enditem