Manuka Charitable Trust Will Not Be Appealing The New Zealand Intellectual Property Office’s Ruling That New Zealand Has No Exclusive Claims To The Term Manuka Honey

Manuka Charitable Trust will not be appealing the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office’s ruling that New Zealand has no exclusive claims to the term manuka honey. Australian Manuka Honey Association chair Dr Ben McKee has welcomed the ‘renewed sensibility’ of the NZ sector and expressed hope for collaboration in the future. He says Australian manuka feels there is more to be gained in working together, rather than the current path of division between the only two native manuka honey producers in the world. MCT Chair Pita Tapene says they have decided not to appeal on the technicalities around this decision, but says it is far from the end of our determination to achieve protection in Aotearoa and around the world. Dr Ben McKee says Australian beekeepers are not the enemy and pose little threat to the market power and size of the NZ Manuka industry.