High honey prices blamed on manuka export 'gold rush'

Honey prices have soared since manuka became "famous". Photo / Getty Images

A big honey producer believes New Zealanders are paying over the odds for table honey because of the high overseas prices for manuka varieties.

"There's a gold-rush mentality out there," said Peter Bray, managing director of Airborne Honey in Canterbury.

Honey providers wanted to be able to supply reasonably priced quality table honeys to supermarkets, he said. However, the everyday monoflorals and bush honeys were being diverted for blending to make manuka honeys, which fetched more overseas.

This resulted in the New Zealand average retail price of a 500g jar of honey rising to about $10 - when it should be around $6 under normal market conditions.

Mr Bray said his company regularly surveyed supermarket prices and it was obvious how these had soared since manuka became "famous".

The chief executive of exporter 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, Sean Goodwin, disputed that blending was carried out in NZ to produce manuka exports. He said New Zealanders were paying more for their honey on the back of manuka's popularity.

Mr Bray wants transparent and internationally credible quality standards for manuka honey.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Primary Industries said the interim guidelines it published last year for manuka honey were a successful step towards clearing up labelling requirements, including a description of "a manuka-type" honey.

The ministry said consumers with concerns about labelling or product health claims should contact the company to see what kind of quality assurances it had to guarantee authenticity.