Watershed moment for bee industry

BUZZ: There is support for a united bee industry body.

The bee products industry has come together to tell its leaders that the best way forward is to draw members from all corners of the apiculture sector.

The theme at the inaugural New Zealand Apiculture Industry Conference held in Wanganui recently, was "working together" and it was an opportunity for members of the Federated Farmers Bee Industry Group to contribute to a wider industry discussion on the future of industry leadership.

Federated Farmers Bees chairman John Hartnell said, "The bee products industry has suffered in recent years from low industry body membership and a fractured group of organisations that have failed to offer beekeepers a united voice on important issues."

In order to ensure all views were heard, a professional facilitator was engaged to tease out the level of support from about 500 bee industry participants that attended the conference.

To revamp the industry the organisation would need a diverse range of membership drawn from not just commercial beekeepers but also hobbyist beekeepers and the wider supply, packer and exporter network.

"The response was overwhelmingly positive," Mr Hartnell said.

At their annual general meeting, Federated Farmers bees group passed a motion to work with the other existing bodies to draft a proposal for a new industry group to represent beekeepers, and to take that proposal to the wider industry and prior to the end of the year.

"This was the mandate given from conference; it was without question a watershed moment for our industry, now we must step up and deliver," Mr Hartnell said.

Industry good funding was also part of a wider discussion. The bee products industry does not have a commodity and struggles to gather the financial resources to fund vital research.

This is particularly the case in areas that will impact market access such as developing scientific standards to define monofloral honeys and processes to ensure that honey can be accurately assessed for adulteration.

After a presentation from Beef + Lamb chairman James Parsons, describing the benefits that the red meat sector gets from a commodity levy, Mr Hartnell said, "The institution of a commodity levy will certainly be part of any proposal to reform the industry.

"We have had some success with a voluntary levy on the number of hives that a beekeeper has but unfortunately it is the same names that keep donating.

"A commodity levy is the only way to address the problem of free riders."