That had affected the company's ability to deliver on its 2017 financial forecast.
Comvita had previously indicated it expected its reported profit for the 2017 financial year to be similar to the 2016 profit of $17.1 million.
``We also indicated for the first four months of the year we had experienced tough trading conditions, with sales significantly lower than the prior year resulting from a slowdown in the New Zealand and Australian informal trade channels into China.''
As a result, Comvita now anticipated its 2017 reported profit would be in the range of $5million to $7million and the majority of the shortfall compared with the last year resulting from the profit impact of the 2016-17 season, he said.
Putting the results into context, the budget for Comvita's apiary business based on an average harvest year was for 974 tonnes. The harvest was now expected to be just 380 tonnes.
``The weather pattern has been so severe our diversification of apiary hubs covering all regions of the North Island has been of limited mitigation this year.''
As also indicated on October 26, 2016, Comvita expected the result for the first half of the financial year to be a loss, Mr Craig said.
The company was expected to report an after-tax loss of $7million to $7.5million for the six months ended December 31. The loss would include an unfavourable non-operating, fair value on SeaDragon options held of $2.8million for the period.
Chief executive Scott Coulter said although Comvita would not have full data on the 2017 honey crop until April or May, the honey season had provided enough evidence to suggest a 60% shortfall in harvest expectations from its own apiary operations.
The majority of the country had seen cold, wet and windy conditions over the optimal nectar flow period.
``There is still some time in certain areas of the country, subject to a sustained period of fine weather, to see some form of recovery. However, it appears the whole industry is experiencing one of the most difficult honey production seasons for many years.''
Although it was disappointing to be forecasting such a financial result, Comvita had been conscious of the possibility of this type of weather event happening and considering what it could do to mitigate the effect, he said.
During the last 18 months, the company had been acquiring manuka honey from third-party suppliers so the business was well positioned to meet consumer demand from existing inventory for at least the next 12 months.
Comvita was experiencing strong sales in all its markets, including the Australian domestic market, but the exception was still the Australasian informal trade channel into China, Mr Coulter said.
Although it had improved in the past two months, revenue from the channel was expected to remain lower than historical levels in the short to medium term.
``We believe it is important for our shareholders to consider, assuming a return to normal weather patterns next year, the operating profit impact of this very poor honey harvest will be isolated to this current financial year.''
The poor harvest reinforced the importance of successful diversification and value-added strategies. Those included adding value to raw bulk manuka honey, fresh olive leaf extract and other products, and moving the brand to Omega-3 fish oils and other unique New Zealand ingredients, he said.
