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Going to the Vote

Writer's picture: Patrick DawkinsPatrick Dawkins

Looming in February are votes crucial to the existence and roles of industry groups Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA) and Apiculture New Zealand (ApiNZ) as a seismic shift in honey industry representation in New Zealand beckons. It will need members of both groups to advance the proposals of their leadership at Special General Meetings (SGM) though. We examine what will be put in front of them.

UMFHA and ApiNZ supplied their respective members with a copy of an updated draft constitution for the proposed ‘New Zealand Honey Association’ (NZHA) on January 28 and 29 respectively, calling for a final round of feedback to be lodged by February 4. After that, both hope to hold SGMs on the week of February 17, with the plan for ApiNZ to wind up and encourage members to join NZHA, should the UMF members decide to adopted their proposed new constitution.

Is Apiculture New Zealand and UMF Honey Association joining forces a good idea? The decision will be in the hands of members of both groups this month.
Is Apiculture New Zealand and UMF Honey Association joining forces a good idea? The decision will be in the hands of members of both groups this month.

The latest constitutional draft has inserted crucial new detail about how NZHA will be financed and led as they seek broader industry-good activity than UMFHA’s current role. Following feedback from members after the first draft constitution was released in November, the board of directors has been expanded from six to nine, while membership fees and a levy of 30c a kg on members’ monofloral mānuka honey exports has been defined.

The new association will be open to beekeeper and honey exporter full membership, with honey exporters who hold UMF™ licences paying 45c a kg on monofloral mānuka exports.

UMFHA CEO Tony Wright also sits on the ApiNZ board and has thus been heavily involved in plans for the proposed New Zealand Honey Association.
UMFHA CEO Tony Wright also sits on the ApiNZ board and has thus been heavily involved in plans for the proposed New Zealand Honey Association.

“The higher UMF™ levy rate reflects the additional value (and associated costs) delivered to those licensing the UMF™ trademarks,” UMFHA CEO Tony Wright explained via email to their members when circulating the latest proposed constitution.

An annual membership fee of $300 for beekeepers who are not exporting mānuka honey applies, while that fee is $3500 for exporters.

Honey exporters would therefore provide the vast majority of funding to NZHA – through both export levies and their higher membership fee – but ApiNZ CEO Karin Kos is confident it will be a viable model to represent both beekeepers and honey exporters. Therefore, they are forging ahead with plans to disestablish ApiNZ as it struggles to pay its way under a voluntary membership model, and transfer any assets to NZHA should it get off the ground.

“We’ve made it clear that the proposal is the only viable option for the whole industry to continue to be represented effectively, and its interests advocated for,” Kos says.

While the constitution does not define sectors which board members might represent – as ApiNZ’s constitution does – it calls for six “member” representatives on the board, alongside three independent directors. Both Kos and Wright say it is intended three member directors will be from a commercial beekeeping background and three with honey export experience.

“Only full members are eligible to stand for any of the member director roles, but rather than define what a commercial beekeeper is (i.e. what’s the threshold?) or what’s an exporter, we have made that the role of the nominations panel to ensure balanced representation,” Wright explains.


The nominations panel would be tasked with assessing those applicants for director roles and then making recommendations as to who should be elected as incoming board members at AGMs. Members would ultimately have the vote as to approving, or not, the panel’s recommendation.

While the panel might be seen as another step in the way of applicants being visible to the voting membership, Wright is confident it is an important step to have in place.

“The panel is there to make sure the appointments process is fair and transparent while ensuring the skills and experience needed are made clear. So, while the panel will definitely ask the Board for input on needs, they are there to deliver on the best interests of the members not the incumbent Board. That’s why this model is used so widely elsewhere and we’re catching up on best practice,” the UMFHA CEO says.

Kos’s communications with members states “as a result of feedback seeking reassurance that there will be transparent communication between members and the organisation, we will work to establish formalised regional engagement”. However, the constitution does not propose any regional structure as part of the blueprint of the NZHA. “Regional hubs” are detailed at length in ApiNZ’s constitution though and, despite this, they have been limited in their implementation and support.

However, “regional forums that would enable members to discuss ideas, concerns and issues that can then be shared with other regions and the Board” are an initiative that Kos says they are “committed to developing”.

Just weeks out from the proposed winding up of ApiNZ – a group formed in 2016 as the successor to the National Beekeepers Association which had stood for 111 years – the CEO is confident members will see moving assets and attention to the planned NZHA as worthy of their approval.

“As always with a democratic process, the final decision is in the hands of our members,” she says.

The voting will be weighted as per the ApiNZ rules, with commercial beekeeper members carrying 56% of the weight, market sector 33% and non-commercial beekeepers 11%. More than 50% of the weighted vote is required to confirm the motion to disestablish.

Perhaps the more consequential and challenging vote to achieve will be convincing members of UMFHA to adopt the NZHA constitution which would see the mānuka honey marketing group take on a much wider role and membership. The vote will be carried out by UMF members, not licensees, and there will be no weight to the vote – meaning a company such as Comvita’s vote will carry as much weight as those members who may not even be currently exporting honey. For the changes to be implemented, 50% of members must cast a vote and at least 75% of those must be in favour of the constitutional change.

February 2025 shapes as a crucial month in deciding the future of apiculture industry representation in New Zealand, from beekeepers to honey marketers and exporters. Wright, who also sits on ApiNZ’s board and has thus been working on both groups’ proposals, isn’t tipping much as far as the crucial UMFHA vote goes.

“I’m not taking anything for granted. This is a very important vote for our members and the wider industry,” he says.

“I would like to think we’ll get this step over the line, and of course I strongly recommend they vote ‘yes’, but it’s their call.”



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