A NEW honey processing facility that could be “a catalyst for the transformation of the whole industry” was officially opened at Davies Apiaries last week.
The development of the new state-of-the-art facility was the result of a three year, $1.1 million project to establish a new, internationally recognised certification process for WA’s unique monofloral honeys, those made from a single flower species.
Davies Apiaries managing director and third generation beekeeper Stephen Davies said the stringency of the certification was on show at its new facility.
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READ NOW“We’re a family owned and operated business who’ve been producing honeybee products for more than 40 years,” Mr Davies said.
“We provide first-stage honey extraction and integrated processing and packaging services, to ensure products meet the standards required by high end and medical grade markets in Australia and internationally.”
He said the new certification would drive sustained increases in market demand, and provide “a catalyst for the transformation of the whole industry”.
Mr Davies’ business was established in Baldivis before it moved to its current location in Oldbury this year.
“Our business today runs over 1000 hives,” he said.
“Our vision is to produce the very best quality product that we can and we’ve been steadily working our way towards that for the last 17 years.”
He said monofloral honeys were the next step in the future of beekeeping.
“What we’ve got in WA is really special,” he said.
The project was jointly funded by the State Government and the WA honey industry, who worked in close partnership with ChemCentre.
ChemCentre principal food scientist Ken Dods said that until now there had been no certification process for monofloral honey products in Australia, which essentially confirms the source and unique attributes of the product.
“WA honeys are considered among the best in the world and are in high demand by discerning honey consumers internationally and for therapeutic medical use,” Mr Dods said.
“Jarrah and marri monofloral honeys, which are both unique to WA, have higher levels of antimicrobial activity than New Zealand’s famous Manuka honey, which increases their appeal to health conscious and discerning buyers internationally.”
Health Minister and Kwinana MLA Roger Cook officially opened the new facility and was impressed with the work going into identifying overseas markets and adding value to a premium product.
“This is an agricultural area close to Perth that really punches above its weight,” he said.
“Davies Apiaries is an exemplary example of just some of the great local product that we have.”
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