Manuka honey sells for roughly US$100 for 500 grams, or about 18 ounces, although higher grades can cost more. It has a nuttier taste than regular table honey, although at that price not many people are likely to be spreading it on their morning toast. Its promoters say it can soothe gastric inflammation and even help treat cuts and burns.
The dispute revolves around the precise type of bush the honey is derived from. In New Zealand, manuka honey comes solely from the nectar of a plant known as Leptospermum scoparium, commonly called a manuka bush. The Australian honey, the New Zealanders argue, comes not only from that bush but also from dozens of other species in the same genus.
But the Australians say their New Zealand counterparts are making a distinction without a difference. Beyond the argument over science, New Zealand producers make a cultural claim, based on the word manuka itself, which originated with the Maori, the country's indigenous people. And then, of course, there's the money. New Zealand's manuka honey industry is worth about US$220 million a year, and the producers have set a goal of increasing that to about US$700 million within the next few years.
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