The Country 01/09/25: Karin Kos talks to Jamie Mackay

The chief executive of Apiculture NZ says this September, we are celebrating the pollination power of the humble honey bee, which makes a vital contribution to New Zealand’s growing horticultural industry, currently valued at $7.5 billion. One-third of the food we eat comes from pollination due to honeybees. At least 75% of all flowering plants depend on pollinators for fertilisation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today is the first day of September, the first day
of spring. I think depending on where you are in
the country, doesn't feel spring like where I am today,
But it's also be Aware month and we've got to
thank the old honeybees. They were introduced to New Zealand
to help pollinate clover for farm animals to eat. One
third of the food we eat comes from pollination due

(00:22):
to honey bees. At least seventy five percent of all
flowering plants depend on pollinators for fertilization. Carr And Costs
is the chief executive of Apiculture New Zealand. Karen, Where
would we be without the humble bee?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Oh? Absolutely, and I think it's suffice to say that
they are critical to obviously to the food sources, but
to our agriculture and horticulture sectors as well. Pollination is
huge and it's spring, you know, so we're starting to
see the keepers get their hives ready for pollination. Go

(01:00):
the Kiwi fruit industry. We've got pip fruit, we've got avocados.
It's a big business for our industry as well as
obviously producing honey.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Horticulture's worth seven and a half billion dollars to US
they're talking about getting it to ten billion shortly. We're
asking it to do quite a bit of heavy lifting.
Have we got enough bees to pollinate our crops?

Speaker 2 (01:24):
That's a very good question, and I don't know if
I can give you the answer. I know that we're
certainly seeing a lot more interest in pollination pollination services,
and our beekeepers are certainly responding to that. Obviously, it's
been really tough times for beekeepers with the contraction in
the honey industry and some of the oversupply that we've

(01:45):
seen in the past, and so pollination is a great
service and a great alternative income source for beekeepers, and
for some it is their prime income source.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Now I was going to ask you, how does it
come using bees to produce honey versus using bees to
sell to horticulture as pollinators, which is the most profitable.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Well, I think it depends on obviously, honey prices versus
pollination services. So it's very much dependent on how the
season goes. But I do know from talking to beekeepers
that providing and getting hives ready for pollination is quite
a lot of hard work. It's quite different and it
is quite hard work to get them ready. So very

(02:32):
important that the beekeepers are talking with the orchardists. I know,
for example that the key We fruit industry has been
going around the country now talking to beekeepers just about
what they need to do and their expectations going into
the pollination season. So yeah, they're quite different, but they
can work together and they do.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
How many beekeepers have we got in this country?

Speaker 2 (02:55):
We now have about eight thousand bee just under eight
thousand beekeepers, but just remember over six probably seven thousand
are actually commercial by sorry, hobbyist beekeepers, So we don't
have a big pool of commercial beekeepers. It's quite a
small pool, but they do a very good job.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
Comveta that's the country's leading honey business. Am I right
in saying that?

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yes? Yeah, Lokal the only public our public owned honey business.

Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yeah, I was reading net loss of one hundred and
five million dollars, a slump and global in the global
honey market, weekend demand changing consumer preferences. With the benefit
of hindsight, did we get carried or way carried away
with Manuka honey?

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Look, I can't comment specifically on Conveter's position, but what
I can say is that we did see obviously our
huge growth in the hides. We hit almost a million
hides in twenty nineteen. We saw corresponding to that, some
very high production years. We had some record harvest seasons

(04:00):
twenty and that combined with the post COVID scenarios where
we saw some of our biggest export markets like China struggle,
particularly with the credit crunch. So all of that had
to impact on the supply and demand, and so we've
seen that absolute contraction over time, and we've seen beekeepers

(04:24):
have to suffer sort of lower prices as well, So
it has been really tough. I would say, though, Jamie,
that I think the underlying demand for good New Zealand honey,
particularly Marnouka honey. Everyone I'm talking to is saying it's
still really strong and markets are open, they're keen to talk.

(04:46):
In recent conversations I've had with beekeepers who have been
going around the country talking to them, is there is
a sense that honey is moving again. So there are
some good signs there as well.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Let's celebrate be aware months beginning today. Thank God for
the common honeybee. A third of the food we eat
comes from pollination due to honey. Honeybee's curR and costs
out of agriculture in Zen. Thanks for your time today
on the country.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Thank you