New Plymouth-based Manuka honey exporter Egmont Honey has completed its acquisition of Tweeddale's Honey, the Taihape beekeeping business that was placed in receivership in March, with settlement finalised on Friday 18 September. The deal takes Egmont's combined hive count across Taranaki and Taihape to more than 22,000 going into the 2026/27 season — a scale that likely makes it the largest beekeeping operation in New Zealand.

It comes at a turning point for the industry. Registered hive numbers across the country have fallen from a peak of 918,000 in 2019 to under 490,000 now, close to halving, while raw Manuka honey prices have started to climb again after a long downturn.

"Timing is everything," said Egmont Honey founder and chief executive James Annabell. "Supply is tightening across the industry at exactly the point demand for genuine New Zealand Manuka is recovering. This is a key strategic acquisition that lets us supply our global retail partners sustainably and at scale, well into the future."

Tweeddale's has worked the central North Island since 1945 and is known for its green hives. Egmont has kept its field beekeeping team and three members of the Tweeddale family. Annabell said the purchase would not change how the company works with its network of supplier beekeepers: Tweeddale's hives cover only part of each season's need and were already Egmont's largest supplier, so the deal secures supply the company already relied on rather than replacing the people who built it.

Annabell paid tribute to Don Tweeddale's lifetime in the industry, saying that knowledge "is not something you can buy or replace". Egmont Honey exports Manuka honey to retailers across Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and North America, giving the enlarged operation a broad international customer base to supply from the expanded hive network. Rural News staff reporters compiled the report.

Source: Rural News Group