HONEY INDUSTRY

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1933, Page 5

HONEY INDUSTRY

CONTINUATION OF PROGRESS.

MINISTER’S SURVEY.

Although the last New Zealand honey crop had not been up to the spring indications, a payable crop of excellent quality had been harvested, and, as a whole, the past season had been a good one, said the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon. C. E. Macmillan, in opening the 20th annual conference of the National Beekeepers’ Association, in Wellington. Mr. P. A. Hillary, president of the association, was in the chair.

The industry had continued to progress for the year ended March, 1933, Mr. Macmillan said. The number of registered apiaries was 7245, comprising 111,910 colonies, and there had been an increase of 1373 apiaries and 18,235 colonies during the past four years. Owing to adverse marketing conditions overseas exports had shown a serious decline over the years 1929 and 1930, and it would seem that the position could be satisfactorily retrieved only by the formation of a strong co-operative organisation on the lines of the now defunct New Zealand Co-operative Honey Producers’ Association.

As an earnest of its desire to co-oper-ate in the rehabilitation of the industry, said Mr. Macmillan, the Government had arranged a loan of £6OOO to enable the Honey Board to purchase on. behalf of the Dominion the rights of the “Imperial Bee” brand, which now had a world-wide reputation as a result of the expenditure by producers of large sums in advertising. Much could be done to stimulate local consumption, which now amounted to about 41b. per capita yearly. The food value of honey was not adequately appreciated, and a proper exploitation of its virtues and the dissemination of information as to various ways in which honey could be used should bring about a substantial increase in consumption. Mr. Macmillan concluded by paying a tribute to the work of the departmental officers in eradicating diseases from apiaries, and to the beekeepers who had act-, ed as honorary apiary inspectors.