British newspaper the Telegraph recently reported that honey manufacturer Rowse has asked lawyers to fight NZ’s application to trademark “mānuka honey” and its composition.
The UMF Honey Association has lodged an application to have the brand protected with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
But UMF spokesperson John Rawcliffe says there is nothing new in the report, and that UK appeal documents were filed back in 2017 when the association first sought the protection, along with an appeal by Australian beekeepers and honey producers.
Rowse claims the protection will have a negative impact on supply and push prices higher for the high-value health-giving product.
But Rawcliffe says this was a diversion from UMF’s efforts to protect an indigenous descriptor.
“There is nothing new in this story. I would like to grow champagne too, but I can’t because it is protected, and this is just what we are seeking for mānuka,” Rawcliffe said.
He says efforts by the UK and Australian beekeepers to stymie NZ’s attempt at protecting the name would be aired in court in the UK in September when both parties’ official appeal against the protection would be heard.
Rawcliffe labelled that confrontation a precedent setting encounter that would have long reaching consequences for the ability of NZ to protect this and future indigenous brand names, including other honey types like rewarewa.
“The reality is that if we are to create added value for honey that puts it above a sugar price, it has to have a New Zealand story behind it,” he said.
Rawcliffe says he was familiar with the British estate Tregothnan, which was a leading voice in the UK opposition to mānuka protection. The property has produced mānuka honey for 20 years, with 50 hives and a line of limited edition mānuka honey.
“Having been there and seeing the plants, they have only a few plants they bought back from NZ in the 1800s. They are a very small drop in the bucket compared to native NZ plantings,” he said.
The UMF association is also continuing with its efforts to also gain protection for mānuka in China, and hoped to see a resolution made there before year’s end.
“In the short-term, these efforts are just an attempt to rip off mānuka. The Australians learnt how to walk all over Uluru, and now they are attempting to walk all over mānuka,” he said.
Apiculture NZ chief executive Karin Kos agreed with Rawcliffe that the UK move had been known about for as long as the Australian opposition.
“From our perspective we have seen the support for protecting mānuka across all aspects of the industry, at an iwi, government and industry level. When you have all the players in NZ working on this, it is a compelling argument to protect it,” she said.
