Jessica Courtney and Capilano Honey sales director Peter McDonald test their product at their factory in Richlands, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
Manuka honey is the next big thing in the Chinese health food market, after Australian vitamins, and Capilano Honey’s Peter McDonald says the company is poised to capitalise on the craze.
Sales director Mr McDonald said the ASX-listed honey company Capilano recently bought Australia’s largest Manuka beekeeping operation for $6 million to boost production to meet Chinese demand.
The next step, he told The Australian, was for the China-Australia free-trade agreement to be swiftly passed by parliament.
“We’re really supportive of the FTA, because New Zealand is our main competitor in the Chinese market and they’ve already got an FTA (with China) and tariffs have already gone to zero,” Mr McDonald said.
Currently, Australian honey exported to China carries a 15 per cent tariff. Under ChAFTA, that will be reduced to nothing in five years. Mr McDonald said the agreement would make products exported by Capilano — Australia’s largest honey company, which turned over $120m last year, up from $85m the year before — more price-competitive with its Kiwi rivals.
“The Chinese view Australia and New Zealand as two premium markets,” he said.
“They know Australia is clean and green, they can trust the quality of our products, and can trust the Capilano brand.”
The company produces 15,000 tonnes of honey each year and exports to 33 countries, accounting for about one-fifth of its business. Last year, shipments to China — including Hong Kong and Macau — doubled.
“With the FTA, we’ll continue to see our sales to China double year-on-year,” Mr McDonald said.
“When you look at the ageing population in China, there’s a demand for healthy foods and honey fits that demand.
“There’s been a lot of research into Manuka honey’s antibacterial properties … and it’s a premium product the Chinese give to family and friends.
“It’s found within the health and wellness section of supermarkets in China — you can see a whole bay of Manuka honey in the same area as Blackmores (vitamins).”
While federal Labor leader Bill Shorten has expressed his reservations about the impact of the FTA on Australian jobs, and unions have waged a ferocious campaign against the ChAFTA, Mr McDonald has no doubts: he was certain the impact on the domestic honey industry would be “positive”, he said.
