The arrival of the bee-killing varroa mite has compounded that curse of all commodity producers, pressure from traders and retailers to drive down the price of the raw product.
But, rather than sit back and wait to be driven out of business, a group of South Island beekeepers is changing the model, differentiating and branding their honey to take advantage of New Zealand's enviable reputation as a producer of safe, quality food and the health benefits of honey.
Southern bee keepers knew their honey had special attributes.
It was pure, of high quality, but little did they know just how special it was.
Five years of research by Prof Peter Molan from the Department of Biological Sciences at Waikato University, who discovered the antibiotic attributes of manuka honey, found South Island honey had exceptionally high levels of antioxidants.
The beekeeper's conundrum was solved.
A co-operative marketing company, New Zealand Honey Specialties, was formed, along with its brand, New Zealand Honey Company, even though beekeepers still cannot say exactly why South Island honey has these exceptional qualities.
"It is something we still haven't worked out, but it is probably to do with the soil, climate and sunlight," chief executive Chris McElroy said.
It is Marketing 101, a simple case of identifying, packaging and branding product attributes, but something NZ's primary industries do not have a great track record with.
They have tended to follow the commodity route instead.
New Zealand Honey Specialties has had instant success, in just two years getting its New Zealand-labelled, antioxidant-certified honey in over 1000 supermarkets and health food stores in the United Kingdom.
Next year, it expects to sell 500 tonnes of honey in the UK, about half of NZ's annual production, generating $8 million in revenue.
Company chairman Peter Ward said the honey industry was forced to change partly out of necessity but also because of a realisation NZ beekeepers were being short-changed.
Much of it was shipped in bulk to Europe and the UK and blended with honey from elsewhere in the world, losing its attributes of purity, quality and taste along with that often-touted attribute of coming from NZ.
At times, 80% of honey produced in this country has been sold by foreign companies.
There was no connection between consumers and producers and no way of preserving and protecting NZ's reputation for quality.
With prices falling to as low as $3 to $4 a kg, change was forced on producers, many of whom were going out of business or relying on other income to survive.
At the same time, retailers in the UK were getting $30 a kg.
"Necessity is the mother of invention," Mr Ward said.
"It was at the point for most beekeepers where it was very difficult, and most rely on income from their wives or outside business to remain viable."
Improving returns were also seen as a strategy to help producers counter the threat from varroa.
Southern beekeepers had something of a blueprint in the approach adopted by North Island manuka honey producers, who had differentiated their product by highlighting its antibacterial qualities, creating a $100 million product.
But they believed they could take their branded, specialty product further.
The plan is to turn New Zealand Honey Specialties into a co-operatively-owned marketing company.
At the same time, their brand - the New Zealand Honey Company - is being positioned to capitalise on the product's quality and health attributes as well NZ's image and reputation, creating a vital "point of difference".
The company has four quite different honeys, each with its own taste and appearance: from thyme from Central Otago; honeydew from Canterbury foothill beech forests; Westland and Southland rata and kamahi; and clover honey from Otago and Southland.
It also produces South Island manuka honey.
Each individual batch of honey accepted by the company is scientifically certified by an independent laboratory and rated according to its antioxidant or antibacterial qualities.
It is then processed on an appropriate production line with honey of a similar antioxidant rating to ensure it meets the criteria on its label.
Technical manager David McMillan said central to success was the beekeepers' skill in achieving "floral purity".
"That's a combination of location, topography and timing because different plants flower at different times."
Overseas honey tended not to vary much because hives were not moved as often or as strategically.
Mr McMillan said NZ beekeepers knew when and where to move hives to retain the honey's floral purity and flavour and therefore its antioxidant and antibacterial qualities.
Mr McMillan said the antioxidants in 300 grams of honeydew honey were equivalent to the antioxidants in 45 apples.
The UK accounts for 40% of NZ honey exports, so it has been the primary focus of the company's marketing, with a target of exposure in 2000 outlets.
Mr McElroy said the company had been talking to health food companies in Germany and France, while Hong Kong and China were also targets.
"We hope to double our volume in the next 12 months."
Tariffs and shipping costs meant it was cost-effective to send honey in bulk to Europe to be packaged, but the company planned to supply Asia and Pacific from a soon-to-be-developed Dunedin processing plant.
Mr Ward said South Island beekeepers were in an enviable position.
They owned the product, the information and they had the knowledge and skill.
Gaining greater control over the marketing chain was a logical extension.
"We own the product from the hive to the supermarket shelf.
"We own the process."
Every country except Iceland produced honey and Mr Ward said there was stiff competition to secure just 2m of supermarket shelf, which was where a point of difference was vital.
That point of difference had already boosted producer incomes by 20%.
"It's not rocket science, but the key to ongoing success is that the business needs to be market driven," he said.
That was not possible for a product sold as a bulk commodity.
