N.Z. HONEY.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 10566, 20 April 1928, Page 8

N.Z. HONEY.

HIGH PRAISE BY IMPERIAL ECONOMIC COMMITTEE. •VALUABLE GOODWILL BiEING BUILT UP. (Special to the Times.) WELLINGTON, April 19. ’ High praise for New Zealand methods are contained in the report ot the Imperial Economic Committee, on Honey ■which , has just reached the Dominion. “New Zealand was the first country in 1914 to export Roney through an association'of producers with the initial object of marketing a product of uniform quality,” stated the report. “The industry has been largely helped in realising this aim by Government legislation which specifies the manner in which bees shall be kept, requires registration of apiaries and provides for - the appointment of instructors in the prevention and eradication of disease. The security thus given has attracted considerable capital and effort to beekeeping on a commercial scale. Though in the last 20 years the numbers of persons keeping bees has halved, the number of bee colonies has increased by 50 per cent. “In 1924 greater stability waji given to the methods of centralised marketing, which had been worked out by the Association, by legislation appointing a Honey Export Control Board consisting of one representative of the Government and two of the producers and by the issue Of regulations under the Act requiring the use of honey apiary appliances and premises, stipulating thq class and quality of containers to be used and providing for the grading of all honey for export. The powers of the Board cover not only the regulation of the quantities to be shipped, but also the terms of shipment, including arrangements for insurance and disposal. While the Board has power to assume absolute control of all honey for shipment it at present only requires that all honey shipped to the United Kingdom and Europe be distributed through one agency, the object being tol maintain thereby a definite standard of quality of honey and ensure that New Zealand .honey reaches the retail market under its own name and description. The export of any honev below a specified standard is prohibited It is not surprising, under these conditions, that the reputation of New Zealand honey for quality, uniformity and methods of packing is high, and a valuable good-will attaching to the New Zealand label is being built up.”

RECORD CROP THIS YEAR. (Special To The Times). WELLINGTON, April 20. A record honey crop is expected this year by the Department- of Horticulture and the grading, which is now progressing, should reveal an increased honey yield in every province in the Dominion.

The two biggest honey-producing provinces in the Dominion are Auckland and South Canterburv, and taking these as an index, bee-keepers will have little to complain : of when the season’s returns are announced. The year is likelv to mark another definite advance by the honey trade, particularly in export.