Changing global trade ties
OPINION: I recently returned from a market visit overseas, including the United Kingdom and Europe. These are critical, historically important and increasingly high value markets for our red meat exports.
The new Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the European Union has given a major boost to the New Zealand honey industry’s claim to exclusive rights to the name ‘mānuka’ honey.
In a chapter on Māori Trade and Economic Cooperation, the FTA specifically defines mānuka as the Māori word used exclusively for the Leptospermum scoparium tree grown in Aotearoa New Zealand, and derivative products such as honey and oil. It also describes mānuka as culturally important to Māori as a tāonga and traditional medicine.
“The exact text that they put in there is exactly what we’re looking for to go to the next step, which is to secure geographical indications for mānuka honey,” said mānuka advocate Tony Wright.
Currently Comvita’s head of industry affairs, Wright has long been involved in the efforts to preserve the name mānuka for New Zealand producers, through Apiculture New Zealand, UMF Honey Association, Te Pitau Ltd and the Mānuka Honey Appellation Society.
He says it’s a significant development.
“What it means is that Europe’s basically said, ‘Yes we agree, we will recognise mānuka honey as being uniquely from New Zealand’.”
The FTA signing came a couple of weeks after Wright spoke at the recent Apiculture NZ Conference in Christchurch, outlining progress in the multi-pronged effort to secure the rights to ‘mānuka ’ internationally.
He revealed at the conference two findings from new research, not yet formally published, that indicate significant differences between New Zealand mānuka trees and honey and their Australian rivals.
One used Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) to analyse honey’s chemical composition, and the other used something called an FST score to analyse the genetics of the trees.
Wright said the FST analysis showed some variation within New Zealand “but nowhere near the significant difference between here and Tasmania”.
He said it will be evidence to support future applications.
“The Australians can’t say that their leptospermum honey is the same as ours,” he told Rural News.
“It’s another one of those proof points that says what’s happened here in New Zealand with our unique environment has shifted the genetics in a way that the product is different.”
Wright explained to the conference there are several methods of protecting a name, including certification trademarks (CTMs), geographical indicators (GI) and protected food names.
All rely on establishing a reputation for your product, he said.
“For example, someone buying champagne expects it to come from France and expects it to have certain attributes and that’s a similar sort of thing that we’re trying to get across the line here.”
Wright said naming rights meant that the producer is protected but so are the consumers because they can rely on the product to be authentic and have the qualities that they want.
In December, the UK Intellectual Property Office declined to register mānuka as a trademark, in a ruling welcomed by Australian interests who had opposed the application.
An appeal is underway, said Wright.
“We think they got that wrong. We’re quite sure that they got a lot of aspects of that decision wrong.”
Wright said some places such as China would need to see a certification trademark or similar level of protection in New Zealand.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
This past week has seen another round of negotiations between India and New Zealand to produce a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Cautiously optimistic is how DairyNZ's regional manager for the lower North Island, Mark Laurence describes the mood of farmers in his patch.
The Infrastructure Commission has endorsed a plan by Chorus to expand fibre broadband to 95% of New Zealand much to the delight of rural women.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…