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Steps to exporting honey and bee products
The steps you need to follow to export honey and bee products from New Zealand.
The process for exporting honey and bee products
The requirements on this page are for honey and bee products. This includes honey and other bee products such as honeycomb, royal jelly, pollen, or propolis.
Export requirements vary for honey and bee products, depending on your destination market. We’ve created a step-by-step process so you can see what’s involved.
If you're exporting to the UK, also check the guide on our resources page.
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Meet New Zealand requirements for honey and bee products
New Zealand legislation and requirements for beekeepers and processors.
What exporters must do
If you're exporting honey or bee products, you need to make sure the products you export have been produced to meet New Zealand requirements and any requirements of the destination market.
There are New Zealand requirements for beekeepers and requirements that must be met by processors and handlers.
What processors must do to meet export requirements
You need to meet New Zealand honey processing requirements, plus any extra export requirements if you're involved in any part of the process to produce honey or bee products for export, including if you:
- extract honey or bee products
- cream or blend honey
- package products
- store or transport products.
Processing and handling honey and bee products
You also need to check if there are requirements specific to the destination market.
Check destination market requirements
Source from a listed beekeeper
You can only export honey and bee products that have been sourced from a beekeeper who is listed with MPI.
If you are the first to process bee products for export, you must get a harvest declaration from the beekeeper for every delivery of bee products.
You must keep a copy of these declarations for at least four years.
Check if an export certificate is required
Some requirements are different depending on whether or not you need an export certificate. This depends on the requirements of your destination market, which are outlined in the password-protected OMAR documents.
If you don't have an OMAR password and are not sure if you need an export certificate, contact our exporter help team.
If you need an export certificate
Operate under a Risk Management Programme
You must operate under a registered and verified Risk Management Programme (RMP) if the destination you're exporting to requires an export certificate.
Other suppliers in your export chain, eg storage facilities, processors, and transporters – also need to operate under an approved programme.
Requirements for storage, transport, wharves and airports
For specific information about developing and registering your RMP, or about having it evaluated and verified, refer to:
Annual processor levy
If you are processing or storing honey or bee products for export and operating under a RMP, MPI will charge you an annual levy to cover the cost of:
- developing requirements and standards for the honey and bee product industry;
- negotiating access to export markets; and
- monitoring residues under the bee products Regulated Control Scheme (RCS).
Provide eligibility documentation for export certificates
RMP operators are required to provide evidence of where their bee products are from, and how they have been handled and processed.
Eligibility documents are raised in MPI’s Electronic Certification system (E-cert) to prove that the product has remained in the RMP chain. These documents are used as supporting evidence when raising an export certificate.
If you process or store animal products for a market that requires an export certificate, you must enter information into E-cert whenever the products move between premises.
Provide a manufacturer's declaration
Some markets require a manufacturer’s declaration as supporting evidence alongside an export certificate. This is a statement from the processor certifying that specific batches of product were produced to the standards set by the export market.
The requirements for a manufacturer’s declaration vary between markets. Declaration requirements may be stated in the OMARs and should also be checked with your exporter.
As an operator you must ensure that when your bee product is intended to be sold as honey, nothing else is added to the product after extraction.
If you don't need an export certificate
If the bee products you are processing are exported to markets that do not require an export certificate, you can operate under the Food Act 2014. This means you may use a National Programme or a custom Food Control Plan instead of, or as well as, operating a Risk Management Plan.
Steps for National Programme 1
Steps to a Custom Food Control Plan
Provide transfer documents
Transfer documents are required for all bee products that are intended for export to countries that do not require an export certificate.
The operator of the premise of final control (the last place the bee products are physically located before they are transferred to a port for export) must provide the transfer documents to the exporter, and keep a copy for four years.
When a consignment of bee products is transferred from one premise to another, the sending operator must provide a transfer document to the receiving operator.
Download a transfer document template [PDF, 271 KB]
- If both operators have active RMPs then the transfer document must be in the form of an eligibility document generated in E-cert.
- Part 4 of the General Export Requirements for bee products (GREX) sets out the requirements surrounding transfer documents.
Honey and bee products General Export Requirements Notice [PDF, 468 KB]
Meet labelling requirements
If you package bee products, you need to comply with the labelling requirements in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Labelling consultants can help you work out what you need to do.
Honey and bee products - labelling and composition
Destination market labelling requirements
Some destination market labelling requirements can be found in the OMARs (Overseas Market Access Requirements). Registered exporters or RMP operators can apply for access to view OMARs via the MPI website.
If you're exporting mānuka honey
There are extra rules and requirements for producing and exporting mānuka honey.
Operators of premises of final control must ensure that all final eligibility documents they raise in E-cert for consignments of honey labelled as mānuka honey include:
- The required validated laboratory test results proving that each batch of honey in a consignment is mānuka honey; and
- In the product description field, the exact mānuka honey statement intended for any resulting export certificates. Mānuka honey must meet the MPI definition.
Premises of final control means the last place the bee products are physically located before they are transferred to a port for export. These premises must be operating under a risk-based measure.
Check destination requirements for honey and bee product exports
Overseas market access requirements and requirements for your market.
Check destination requirements
As an exporter of honey or bee products, you're responsible for knowing and meeting the Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMAR) for your destination country.
Some countries have much stricter and more costly requirements than others – it's worth checking the requirements before deciding where you want to export to. You can contact MPI's Exporter Regulatory Advice Service for help.
Contact the exporter advice team
You need to apply to MPI to read the OMARs because they're password protected.
Apply for a password to access OMARs
Search for your OMAR
When you have your password, you'll be able to read the OMAR for your products.
Read the OMAR for your destination country thoroughly to make sure you can comply with all the requirements.
If your export destination has an OMAR you'll likely need an 'official assurance', also known as an export certificate, before you can send your product. Official assurance is the New Zealand Government's assurance to the destination country that your product meets the standards set out in the OMAR.
Check FYIs and OMAR notifications
Other information you should read includes:
Guidance offered by FYIs can help you with exporting concerns or issues. (You may need your OMAR password to read some FYIs.)
OMAR notifications will give you the latest updates for your destination country.
Exporting to a country with no OMAR
If there is no OMAR for your export destination, work directly with your importing agent to find out about certification and any other requirements. If an import permit is required, the permit will outline the requirements.
Note that if there is no OMAR, it could mean your product is prohibited from being sent to that country.
Some destinations that don't need official assurances may instead require Free Sales Certificates (FSC), or Free Sales Advice Statements (FSAS).
Find out more about FSCs and FSASs
If you use wood packaging
If you use wood packaging products – other than paper – for your export product, check that your wood packaging meets the phytosanitary requirements of the destination country. Most countries require you to treat your wood packaging to make sure it's free of pests and diseases.
Register as an animal products exporter
How to register and list of registered exporters.
How to register
You can do this online.
AP1 exporter registration – online form
Notes about registering
- You'll need to pay a registration fee each year.
- Registration applications are assessed according to requirements set out in section 54 of the Animal Products Act 1999.
- If you don't register with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), you can use the services of an exporter who is already registered.
If you're exporting organic honey or bee products
If you want to export organic honey or bee products, you will need to understand and comply with your destination market's regulations for marketing your product as “organic”.
If you are exporting to the EU or Switzerland, which are covered by the MPI Official Organic Assurance Programme (OOAP), you must also:
- register with an MPI recognised Third Party Agency, either AsureQuality or BioGro
- have an organic management plan (OMP) for your bee operation that is verified against the requirements of the OOAP Technical Rules by your chosen third party agency
- register with MPI as an organic exporter
- get an official organic assurance for your consignments.
OP1 organic exporter registration - online form
To find out about getting official assurance for organic exports to the EU or Switzerland, see:
Exporting organic products to the EU and Switzerland
For more information about exporting organic food, see:
Steps to exporting organic food
Registered exporters list
When your application has been processed and approved by MPI, you will be added to a list of registered exporters that is maintained by MPI and available to the public:
Register for E-cert, if needed
About E-cert and how to register.
About E-cert
The electronic certification system called Animal Products E-cert is what we use to issue official government assurances for animal products, including honey and bee products, that are exported from New Zealand.
At each step of the production process, operators need to add information to E-cert. At the end of the process, the exporter uses E-cert to apply for an export certificate (an official assurance as provided for in the Animal Products Act).
It is mandatory to use E-cert for some markets and strongly recommended for a number of others.
E-cert is password protected and new exporters and operators need to apply for access.
How to register
To use E-cert, your company must be:
- a registered exporter under the Animal Products Act 1999
- a business with a registered Risk Management Programme
- an export-approved premises
- acting as an agent for another company that is registered as one of the above.
You need to get company access first, then add access for individuals.
Apply for a honey export certificate, if needed
Using E-cert and how to request approval to get your certificate.
Using E-cert
If the destination you're exporting honey or bee products to requires an export certificate (or official assurance), you need to apply for it through E-cert.
The information and declarations you, or the operators you work with, have entered about the production of your honey or bee products confirm that they comply with requirements.
Training and help using AP E-cert
Guidance resources to help you understand the exporting process, certification, and how to use AP E-cert.
AP E-cert demonstration
Walk-through a demo to learn how to raise an export certificate in AP E-cert.
Walk-through demo of AP E-cert
How to request approval
Once the export certificate application has been raised in E-cert, email your nearest MPI signing office to arrange approval of the export certificate.
Find contact details for MPI signing offices
Getting the export certificate
When MPI is satisfied that your honey or bee products comply with all requirements and standards, we issue the official assurance (export certificate) through E-cert.
The official assurance can be provided for your consignment in various ways. Check the OMAR of your destination country and the Official Assurances Specification to work out what you need.
Export non-conformance
If your honey or bee product export is stopped at the border or no longer meets export requirements, you must tell MPI within 24 hours.
Find out more about export non-conformances
Who to contact
If you have questions about exporting, email exporterhelp@mpi.govt.nz
