New Zealand has an enviable reputation for both the quality and disease-free nature of its honey bee stocks. This has recently been recognised in the United States, where negotiations are currently under way to allow replacement stocks from New Zealand into areas being overtaken by the Africanised bee. A number of other products produced by bees are gaining in popularity, both in New Zealand and world-wide. Most significant is royal jelly, which is prized by Asian peoples as a tonic and restorative. Royal jelly is secreted by a special gland in the bodies of nurse bees, and is the high protein food fed to developing queen bee larvae.
Royal jelly is processed into a variety of forms, including capsules, tablets and cosmetics.
Propolis is also being used in a range of natural health care products, mostly due to its reputed properties as an antibiotic. Propolis is the bee-collected secretions of plants which is used as a glue and preservative in the hive. Several tonnes of propolis are collected each year by beekeepers and sold to heath products manufacturers. Pollen has traditionally been collected from bees and used as a protein food supplement. Three to four tonnes are produced each year and sold either as raw pollen, or in combination with other materials.