{"id":21770,"date":"2025-01-27T13:38:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=21770"},"modified":"2025-01-27T13:39:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T13:39:00","slug":"manuka-honey-still-advertising-nz-for-health-benefits-despite-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/27\/manuka-honey-still-advertising-nz-for-health-benefits-despite-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"M\u0101nuka honey still advertising NZ for health benefits despite slump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Times may be changing, with m\u0101nuka honey production slumping but health interest on New Zealand\u2019s famous bee product is increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The honey comes from bees whose main diet is the herbal\u00a0M\u0101nuka shrub or\u00a0Leptospermum scoparium<\/em><\/u><\/em><\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0hence the name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All has not been so rosy in the flowering shrub of late however, with\u00a0the\u00a0New Zealand Herald<\/u><\/a>\u00a0highlighting flailing market performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite falling home demand, search interest on the honey in western countries has increased dramatically. Online searches in the U.S., for instance, peaked at 75% by January 26, 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the interest lies in the natural product\u2019s curative abilities over cancer and microbes, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent journal findings have particularly highlighted the sweetener\u2019s anti-inflammatory ability over tumors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a Nutrients journal study,\u00a0M\u0101nuka honey (MH) has\u00a010 times<\/u><\/a>\u00a0the composition of phenolics as Hawaii\u2019s equally famous Ohia lehua<\/em> honey. \u00a0Phenolics are compounds with antiseptic qualities and therefore serve at fighting infections.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MH also brings the many benefits of sugary bee products that include the prevention of bacterial infection and tissue repair.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most keynote health advertisement however is its anti-bacterial \u201cmethylglyoxal<\/u><\/a>\u201d compound.  This compound\u2019s identification in 2008 after three decades of research immediately made the bee product highly premium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pricey?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, thanks to the above medical hype, the product is highly expensive and therefore export-oriented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A look at shopping sites in New Zealand shows that it sells in teaspoonsfuls, with 310 g costing the least at US$13.88.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A kilo meanwhile costs at least US$137.76, which is far above the ordinary price range<\/u><\/a> of natural honey in New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the same, MH has a deep impact on the Kiwi economy. In 2022, exports alone made up 76% of some NZ$583 million ($331.6 million) in national beekeeping turnover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is therefore noteworthy that in spite of the ongoing slump, the health side of the honey is still generating search hits. And there is more, as the statistics below illustrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand M<\/strong>\u0101<\/strong>nuka Honey Statistics<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

New Zealand is a top honey-producing nation, with an output of\u00a012,000 tonnes<\/u><\/a>\u00a0of natural honey in 2023, per FAOSTAT. Production of all honey (including natural) reached\u00a022,000 tonnes<\/u><\/a>\u00a0in 2022, at position 17 worldwide and the highest in Oceania. While the country produced only\u00a01,700 tonnes<\/u><\/a>\u00a0of its best known honey, M\u0101nuka (2016), bogus sales circulated worldwide. \u00a0Indeed, some 10,000 tonnes of products claiming to be pure\u00a0M\u0101nuka circulated around the world in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many M<\/strong>\u0101<\/strong>nuka hives are New Zealand<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For centuries, the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand have been enjoying honey from bees that feed on a special bush. Today, the M\u0101nuka bush attracts thousands of summer hives each southern summer. As of 2019, beekeepers in New Zealand had registered some 918,026<\/u><\/a> such hives, at the height of the flowering season of the shrub. However, five years on in 2024, a slump visited the sector amid low demand and surplus. Beehive numbers came down by 34.5%<\/u><\/a> from 2019\u2019s levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What caused M<\/strong>\u0101<\/strong>nuka honey production slump in early 2025<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heavy summer rainfall during inflorescence caused a fall of 45%<\/u><\/a> in output of this special honey in 2024 versus 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is M<\/strong>\u0101<\/strong>nuka beneficial to the economy<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

M\u0101nuka honey exports account for 76% or NZ$583 million ($331.6 million) of NZ\u2019s total honey sector returns, as of 2022. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Times may be changing, with m\u0101nuka honey production slumping but health interest on New Zealand\u2019s famous bee product is increasing. The honey comes from bees whose main diet is the herbal\u00a0M\u0101nuka shrub or\u00a0Leptospermum scoparium,\u00a0hence the name. All has not been so rosy in the flowering shrub of late however, with\u00a0the\u00a0New Zealand Herald\u00a0highlighting flailing market performance.\u00a0…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21496,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nM\u0101nuka honey still advertising NZ for health benefits despite slump - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2025\/01\/27\/manuka-honey-still-advertising-nz-for-health-benefits-despite-slump\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"M\u0101nuka honey still advertising NZ for health benefits despite slump - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Times may be changing, with m\u0101nuka honey production slumping but health interest on New Zealand\u2019s famous bee product is increasing. 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