- Australia and New Zealand in a dispute over rights to the ‘manuka’ honey name
- New Zealand is trying to claim the name for themselves, Aussies say
- Australian manuka honey producers have set up their own association
- They are trying to push back against New Zealand’s attempted ownership
Australia and New Zealand are set to go to war – over honey.
A battle is brewing between the two neighbours as their friendly rivalry threatens to spill into a full international dispute over ownership of the word ‘manuka’.
New Zealand is trying to claim rights to the name as sales of the expensive honey skyrocket, according to The Weekly Times.
Manuka honey has become so popular that some shops are having to put jars in security boxes
Australian manuka honey producers met in Melbourne on Monday to set up their own incorporated association
The product – which some believe has healing properties – has become so popular that some shops are having to put jars in security boxes.
Australian manuka honey producers met in Melbourne on Monday to set up their own incorporated association to rival the Kiwis’ own Unique Manuka Factor association.
The group is hoping to push back against the New Zealanders efforts to own the manuka name, according to Australian Honey Bee Industry Council chairman Lindsay Bourke.
‘They’ve been broadcasting to the world ‘Only from NZ’, and they’re trying so hard to convince everyone it’s the only place it comes from that they’ve started to believe it themselves.
‘So we’re going to protect the word manuka. We’re the only two countries that produce it and the whole world needs it, we can’t understand what our Kiwi friends are trying to do.
‘We had manuka honey here in Australia for thousands and thousands of years before New Zealand was born,’ Mr Bourke told 3AW.
The group is hoping to push back against the New Zealanders efforts to own the manuka name