BEEKEEPERS CONFER

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1025, 16 July 1930, Page 13

BEEKEEPERS CONFER

GROWING INDUSTRY MAYOR OPENS BUSINESS Members from all over New Zealand are in Auckland attending the annual conference of the New Zealand Beekeepers’ Association, which opened yesterday afternoon in the A. and P. Association rooms. This is- the seventeenth annual conference, the last held in Auckland being in 1922“Beekeeping is developing into a fairly prominent industry,” said the Mayor, Mr. George Baildon, at the official opening yesterday. This was shown by the fact that a record of 119 entries had been received for the honey section of the Auckland Winter Exhibition. The product was now being properly graded in the same way as butter and fruit, thus giving guarantee to overseas buyers. 1 England especially the place of New Zealand honey was very high. The Mayor pointed out that last year 2,398,1401 b of honey, representing a value of £57,000, was exported from the Dominion, and that a further four million pounds was sold for home consumption. This showed what a prominent place the industry really deserved.

Visitors were welcomed bv the president. Mr. R. Gibb, and by the Auckland district secretary, Mr. P. A. Hillary.

The view that Canada will be a great rival to New Zealand in the home markets was advanced by Mr. W. J. Jordan, M.P. for Manukau, formerly an expert beekeeper under the Honey Producers’ Association, who returned recently after a visit to America and England. In Canada the Government is taking an interest in the industry and will soon place it on a very sound footing. It had been found easy to produce 1,000 tons of honey annually in the Dominion, but the difficulty was to market it economically in spite of a keen demand for New Zealand honey in England. The future of the industry here depends on the newly established Control Board, which has now been given an annual grant of £9,000 by the Government for publicity work done overseas. When in England Mr. Jordan had bought a packet which, the label said, “contained N.ew Zealand honey,” and so it (lid, but in a blend with an inferior quality. Such a practice should not be permitted, since it was risking New Zealand’s reputation. A review of the improvements to the honey trade through the introduction of grading and inspection was given by the president in his address. The great trouble in the early days when commercial beekeeping began 25 years ago was foul brood, but now there is not more than 1 per cent, of this to be found. The Taranaki producers were responsible for the introduction of grading in 1906, and this was followed by the establishment of a Honey Control Board, which has kept the marketing out of the hands of merchants. This has meant lower prices to the consumer. The president urged the development of a local market. In England the average consumption a person was only 3oz as against 31b in New Zealand and, if costs between the producer and the buyer could be reduced, still better results could be achieved. During the year one new branch was formed at Wellington and the Rangiora branch abandoned, according to the annual report presented by Mr. A. Ecroyd. There are now 20 branches of the association in the Dominion. Active steps had been taken to secure amendments to the Apiaries Act without result, and the Government had rejected the proposal to establish a state apiary at Palmerston North on the ground of economy. The balance-sheet showed a credit of £147.

After the business session yesterday afternoon, the conference adjourned to the evening, when an address was given by Mr. Gilbert Archey, of the Auckland Museum, on “Native Bees of New Zealand.” This was followed by a debate between the Auckland Central and South Auckland branches on a technical subject.