Mānuka is a colonising plant that tends to grow in disturbed soils and is often found in less fertile whenua. Mānuka can be established on almost any soil type and in any climate, but prefers wet soils and can grow in standing water as a riparian plant.

Growing mānuka for honey is suited to any slope as long as the beehives are accessible to the beekeepers. Mānuka growing on north-facing whenua is more likely to have high numbers of flowers, meaning that more nectar will be produced by the plants. We recommend less than 20 degrees for new planting where plantations might be happening.

Mānuka needs very little soil depth to grow well (ideal is greater than 60cm) and can grow in standing water. Their root system absorbs nutrients and water in whatever soil the plant can find.

Mānuka grows in marginal soils with low fertility so the addition of fertiliser is unlikely to be necessary.

In Aotearoa, mānuka is known as a colonising plant, tolerant of all climatic conditions. For mānuka, temperature will influence how fast the plant grows, but once established they are extremely drought tolerant and can withstand heavy frosts and even snow. For the bees/flowering we recommend mean maximum temperature (greater than 12 °C) | 15-Oct to 31-Jan. And a mean minimum temperature (greater than -1°C) | 22 Jun to 22 Sep.

Mānuka will grow well with an average amount of rainfall but grows successfully in an extremely wide range of conditions. Regular rainfall is helpful while your plants are establishing.

Rainfall at flowering time will dilute the nectar in the mānuka flowers and prevent bees from foraging. This will impact on the yield of your honey crop.

The Mānuka and Kānuka Plantation guide

If you're thinking about growing mānuka for honey on your whenua, check the rainfall and rain intensity in your region. This is important while your mānuka plants are establishing and during flowering.

See NIWA for more information.

Mānuka for honey production is a long-term, seasonal crop, meaning you may get one crop of honey every summer for the productive lifetime of the mānuka plants.

When planning to plant mānuka for honey production, you will need to consider your geographic location and the suitability of your whenua for siting and maintaining beehives. Mānuka will grow anywhere, but eco-sourcing your plants will mean that they are better adapted to your local climate. This is important to ensure that flowering time coincides with the optimal foraging requirements of honeybees.

It can take more than a year for a nursery to contract grow your seedlings.

A comprehensive guide to growing mānuka for honey can be found in the link below.

The Manuka & Kanuka Plantation Guide.

Before planting, some weed control should be undertaken to ensure the growing site is free from competing plants because pasture grass and weeds can strangle your seedlings.

You may need some machinery to prepare your whenua for planting mānuka.

The climate of the plantation site will determine when to plant your seedlings. If your whenua is prone to heavy frosts, spring might be ideal. If your whenua is subject to serious drought over the summer months, autumn or winter might be better. Plantations have been known to fail when the plants are deprived of water during their establishment phase.

Mānuka plants need to grow for at least 3 years before they're ready to be harvested by bees for mānuka honey.

Kauri Park - Mānuka Genetics

Honeybees can only make honey when the plants are in flower because this is when they harvest the nectar they need to produce the honey in the hive. The timing of flowering is dependent on your local climate conditions, as well as your whenua attributes, and the variety of mānuka you have grown.

Usually, one beehive is required for every hectare of mānuka. Bees will choose which varieties of plant to take nectar from, so understanding the bee-flower relationship plays an important role in maximising the yield and purity of your mānuka honey.

You can choose to manage the beehives yourself or you can contract a beekeeper to supply the hives. The beekeeper will sell the honey from your mānuka and you will receive a royalty payment from the sale of the honey. There is a significant level of skill required to make honey.

Maximum honey yield will be reached after your plants have grown for at least 6 years. The amount of MGO in mānuka honey dictates how much consumers will pay. MGO is the compound present in mānuka honey that is known to exert antibacterial potency. MGO develops because of a chemical reaction that occurs when mānuka honey is stored. To maximise the MGO content (and get the highest prices) once the honey has been processed, it will be stored for 12-18 months.

Further information on the relationship between the mānuka grower and a beekeeper can be found in the handbook for Mānuka Plantations and Farms.

Handbook for Mānuka Plantations and Farms

You can read about how to increase the MGO content of your mānuka honey in the link below.

The Mānuka and Kānuka Plantation Guide

Mānuka plants can be affected by myrtle rust and young plants are attractive to browsing animals like rabbits, goats, and deer. You will need to consider using pest management methods, such as:

• counting the number and species of pests weekly
• monitoring crops to assess plant health
• making the environment less attractive to pests
• targeted use of fungicides and pesticides.
• targeted use of pest control methods.

You will also need to understand about hive maintenance and hygiene practices.

Learn more about managing beehives.

Apiculture NZ

Hive owners must register their hives and apiary sites and pay levies to the Ministry for Primary Industries for government surveillance and regulatory programmes. Apiculture New Zealand provides more information about beehive compliance.

Apiculture New Zealand

Export market

New Zealand's mānuka honey export market was worth about $150 million in 2020, with Europe making up 40% of this market. Global markets understand the value proposition of mānuka honey as a health food. Major honey brands dominate global markets and it would be difficult for new entrants to breakthrough online. For example, in 2022, 5 mānuka honey brands took 84% of revenue in the US market. However, global demand for mānuka honey has slowed following a boom during the COVID pandemic, and a stockpile of unsold mānuka honey has reduced prices.

Read more about demand for Mānuka honey in 6 overseas markets.

According to a Ministry of Primary Industries report, “demand soared after the onset of the pandemic as people sought health-boosting foods, and a record export volume contributed to a record total revenue of $482m in 2021. However, those volumes could not be sustained … total export volume is forecast to fall by 15%.”

The Guardian - New Zealand drowning in Mānuka honey after a boom in beekeeping

Apiculture New Zealand

Apiculture New Zealand works for all sectors of the apiculture industry, providing support, advocacy, and benefits to its members. Membership is voluntary.

Apiculture New Zealand

UMF Honey Association

UMFHA is an incorporated society that represents beekeepers, processors, and marketers focusing on the export of mānuka honey. Their membership accounts for approximately 70% of mānuka exports from NZ. UMFHA liaises with government and international regulatory bodies on behalf of their members. UMFHA has a quality assurance system, and its certification process awards the UMF^TM quality mark to products that meet its agreed standards.

UMF™ | New Zealand Mānuka Honey Certification & Research

Scale

Mānuka honey production can return a profit from a medium or large-scale enterprise. A medium-scale enterprise needs around 20 hectares to be commercially viable, but larger plantations (100 hectares or more) are optimal.

Turning a profit from producing mānuka honey depends on several factors, like:

• your location - access to the market, or infrastructure, or to a packhouse
• your production practices - modern machinery and equipment or smaller scale efficiencies. Beekeeper skill is critical
• the market demand and access to the market
• your operational efficiencies - larger farms will benefit from economies of scale.

Equipment and infrastructure

There are various tools and equipment needed for producing mānuka honey. These include:

• hives and apiculture equipment
• vehicles for moving hives around
• storage drums for honey
• storage facility
• extraction equipment (e.g. hot room, frame extractor, honey dryer, forklift, mixing tank).

It's estimated that you'll need to grow at least 20 hectares of mānuka plantation to offset the costs of investing in machinery and equipment. Contractors could be used to provide some of these services if you are producing honey on a smaller scale but this is unlikely to be commercially viable.

After harvesting your crop, you'll need storage sheds to maintain the quality of your honey. The honey will be stored in drums, ready for the market. If you're located near an extraction shed and can partner with them, they'll help you with this. MPI estimate that an extraction facility may cost around $100,000 to build, meeting food handling standards, and including the purchase of specialised extraction equipment.

Jobs and people

Your people and labour requirements are seasonal, based on key milestones, like moving and managing the hives. You'll need specialist beekeepers. The specialists will help you with:

• managing the hives,
• pest management techniques,
• extraction and,
• post-extraction management.

The peak demand for labour by specialist beekeepers is during the mānuka flowering season. This varies according to where you are located across the motu.

Case study - East cape mānuka honey enterprise

Here is an example of a mānuka honey enterprise in the East Cape, let's imagine it had 100 hectares of mānuka plantation last year.

It yielded 230 kg of mānuka honey, bringing in a revenue of $4,600. When the mānuka honey industry was at its peak the revenue was $9,200.

It had $7,430 in expenses, and the farm made a loss of -$2,830. When the mānuka honey industry was at its peak, they made a profit of $1,770.

Operational costs

The estimated operational costs to produce mānuka honey are around $743 per hectare per year. This depends on factors, like:

• scale of the operation
• level of mechanisation
• specific beekeeping skill and practices
• regional and locational factors (for example, flying in hives using helicopters is costly)
• market conditions.

Labour costs can be significant, especially during the mānuka flowering season. Some other examples of costs that you'll need to consider are:

• plants and associated establishment costs (if required)
• hive and associated management costs
• storage drums and associated storage facilities
• extraction costs and associated equipment (including accredited extraction and packaging facilities)
• marketing and distribution costs
• skilled labour
• permits, licenses, or certifications
• compliance with regulations and food safety standards.

Costs

There are some costs you will need to consider, and these will change with the amount produced. Here are some examples:

Yield (and time to profit)

The state of the mānuka plantation and expertise of the beekeeper will play a key role in the honey yield, as will the hive's health and the weather conditions.

Maximising mānuka honey production will increase the profits you earn. Factors that can contribute to higher honey production include:

• hive management (includes hive health)
• plant selection (for example plant cultivar)
• planting density and proportion that are north-facing
• nectar flow of the plants
• physiological age of the trees (older stands have less flowers and less nectar)
• duration of the flowering season
• weather conditions during the flowering season (e.g. bees perform best in hot, calm conditions), and
• beekeeper skill.

Revenue

Returns from mānuka honey production are influenced by a variety of factors, including:

• market conditions
• yield
• quality
• production costs
• pricing strategies
• events beyond your control, for example weather conditions or market fluctuations.

Things that can create better returns include:

• efficient practices to maximise yield and production.
• market demand and pricing
• quality and grading
• Cost management
• Storage and post-extraction handling
• Value-added opportunities

To help you make informed decisions and maximise returns, it's important for you to:

• stay informed about market trends through research.
• maintain good relationships with buyers.
• regularly assess your enterprise's production and financial performance through tracking costs.

Operating profit

To estimate your operating profit, you must look at the money generated from selling your honey, minus your production costs. Some factors may affect your revenue and influence your enterprise's operating profit. These include:

• plantation size or the size of your mānuka planting
• the number of hives per hectare (1 hive per hectare is the maximum recommended for mānuka honey production)
• yield - the quantity of honey sold
• market conditions and fluctuations
• production costs and efficient beekeeping practices
• pricing strategies
• weather conditions.

You will need to consider your production costs, which can include:

• labour
• plant costs
• irrigation (if planting)
• pest and disease management
• hive and equipment maintenance
• storage
• packaging
• marketing costs.

These costs can be affected by having efficient beekeeping practices and effective cost management.

Each enterprise will have factors specific to them and different market dynamics. Keeping accurate records of your production and financial records can help you see where improvements could be made and increase your operating profit.

As at December 2020, New Zealand was the 2^nd largest exporter of honey, with key markets being China, Australia, Japan, and the USA. The authorities can provide information on what's needed to export mānuka honey, including:

• procedures
• documentation
• fees or licences
• packaging standards
• biosecurity requirements.

To export mānuka honey, you need to follow legislative requirements, including:

• MPI compliance around certification of mānuka standards, as well as other compulsory tests (e.g. tutin levels )
• meeting export requirements, like documentation and packaging standards
• ensuring food is produced so it can be sold under the Food Act 2014
• meeting regulations around risks to freshwater.

All hive owners must register their hives and apiary sites and pay levies to MPI for government surveillance and regulatory programmes. These levies will be $322.67 per land parcel/block per year. Information about these levies can be found on the Apiculture New Zealand website.

Apiculture New Zealand

If honey is to be exported, there will be an additional MPI Export Certification fee of $1005.70 per year per 'block'.

Steps to exporting honey and bee products

You must comply with National Programme 1 requirements under the Food Act 2014. This includes:

• following safe food practices, like checking for pests and using clean water
• registering your business with either your local council or MPI
• getting your business verified.

Learn more about National Programme 1.

You must have a registered plan.

Animal Products Act 1999

Honey and bee products roadmap

You will need a freshwater farm plan, either now or by 2025 if your whenua will have:

• 20 hectares or more of arable and/or pastoral use, or
• 5 hectares or more of horticultural use, or
• 20 hectares or more of combined uses.

These plans identify actions to manage and mitigate risks of on-farm activity to freshwater. They must be certified and audited, then recertified every 5 years.

Learn more about freshwater farm plans.

Some additional certifications and registrations may make your honey more appealing to buyers.

You can choose to get certified with UMFHA for a yearly fee. UMFHA has a quality assurance system, and its certification process awards the UMF^TM quality mark to products that meet its agreed standards. Some retailers and wholesalers only take crops from a UMFHA-certified supply channel.

The UMF^TM is not the only quality mark in the mānuka honey industry.

In 2018 MPI introduced legal requirements for mānuka honey labelling including definitions and standards for export mānuka honey. Five attributes must be present for mānuka honey to be classified as such, which include 4 chemicals at a specific level as well as a DNA test:

• 3-Phenyllacticacid
• 2’-Methoxyacetophenone (or 2-MAP)
• 2-Methoxybenzoic acid
• 4-Hydroxyphenyllactic acid
• DNA from Manuka pollen

The levels of those markers determine whether the honey is classified as Monofloral or Multifloral mānuka honey. The test results from the certifying lab must accompany the export documents for the mānuka honey ensuring that the product packed in New Zealand is genuine.

This is the only government-regulated and approved standard for mānuka honey in the world.