Lindsay Bourke started his apiary business with 200 hives while working as a firefighter. Today, Australian Honey Products (AHP) exports 65 per cent of its award-winning products to Asia, Europe and North America.
AHP’s honey is cultivated from leatherwood trees in Tasmania’s pristine Tarkine rainforest. In addition to its active and organic honey, AHP offers ales, meads, honey nectar concentrates and a honey mead whisky. The company also provides a pollination service for the Tasmanian agricultural sector and exports live bees to Canada.
In 2015, AHP’s leatherwood honey was judged the World’s Best Honey at the World Beekeeping Awards in Seoul. Its honey meads and ales also received medals.
AHP’s biggest export markets include China, Hong Kong, Canada, Oman, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. In 2015–16, it increased exports by 18 per cent, achieved through direct sales and selling to Australian honey exporters.
To keep up with demand for its products, AHP opened a new state-of-the-art production facility in Launceston in 2016. The facility will allow the company to expand its production capacity, as well as develop health food products in the future.
A strong advocate for the honey industry, AHP launched a Certificate III beekeeping training program in 2014. The first three beekeepers graduated from the program in 2016. Bourke was also named the Biosecurity Farmer of the Year at the 2015 Farmer of the Year awards for his efforts to safeguard beehives against the varroa mite.
Judges praised Australian Honey Products for its inspiring development of international markets for a unique product that is utilising its environmental credential and personal approach very effectively.
Commonwealth Bank is a proud sponsor of Agribusiness Award category.
