The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Govt requested to rethink position on Glyphosate use after honey rejection

RNZ
6 Apr, 2021 08:30 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Photo / AFP

Photo / AFP

By Maja Burry of RNZ.

Apiculture New Zealand has asked the Agriculture Minister to support a national discussion on Glyphosate use, saying international consumers are becoming more concerned about chemical residues in their food.

Figures from the Japan's Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare show this year five New Zealand honey shipments, including one as recently as March, have been rejected by Japan for exceeding the country's accepted trace levels for Glyphosate weed killer.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said the trace levels did not present any food safety issues - but to meet Japanese standards it had introduced mandatory testing for honey exports to the country.

It said it was likely all of the affected shipments were en route before the testing scheme was in place.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

MPI market access director Steve Ainsworth said it continued to have constructive engagement with Japanese authorities.

"They understand the steps New Zealand is taking to ensure our honey continues to meet their requirements," he said.

Last year honey sales to Japan were valued at about $67 million.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Apiculture New Zealand chief executive Karin Kos said it was too soon to say if export revenue would be impacted by the recent developments.

"We'll be interested to see how things go but Japan is a very strong export market for us and I'm confident that if we're managing the Glyphosate issue well and that we're meeting that standards that they have set ... I am confident we will continue to see good sales to Japan."

Kos said the bigger issue for the industry was that extent of Glyphosate use in New Zealand was not clear.

Kos said anecdotally, she had a lot of conversations with beekeepers about spraying programmes that were occurring around the country.

Discover more

New Zealand

Why Japan is threatening to block NZ honey imports

19 Jan 06:00 PM

Call for more strict glyphosate-use guidelines after Japan's honey warning

21 Jan 07:45 PM

Quarter of bee species haven't been seen in 30 years - research

25 Jan 01:00 AM

Couple's honey brand keeps family name alive

01 Apr 06:00 PM

"We have gone to the government and the [Agriculture] Minister to seek their support for a national conversation on this and not just with us, but with other primary sector agencies, just to find out a little bit more about Glyphosate, [and] how much is being used."

Kos said there was growing concern from international consumers about chemical residues from herbicides and pesticides in their food and the sector was looking for support in how it managed that issue over the longer term.

- RNZ

Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

The Country: The PM on ag returning to the classroom

17 Sep 02:06 AM
The Country

'Payout has definitely helped': Rural spending picks up in Taranaki

16 Sep 11:46 PM
The Country

Dairy prices ease again in latest GDT auction

16 Sep 09:03 PM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

The Country: The PM on ag returning to the classroom
The Country

The Country: The PM on ag returning to the classroom

Christopher Luxon, Shane McManaway, Andrew Murray, Nicola Grigg, and Jeremy Rookes speak.

17 Sep 02:06 AM
'Payout has definitely helped': Rural spending picks up in Taranaki
The Country

'Payout has definitely helped': Rural spending picks up in Taranaki

16 Sep 11:46 PM
Dairy prices ease again in latest GDT auction
The Country

Dairy prices ease again in latest GDT auction

16 Sep 09:03 PM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP