Australian honey exporters will benefit from new digital reforms that streamline the process of certifying exports to Britain and the European Union. On March 30, 2023, certification for exports of bee products for human consumption became available through Nexdoc for these countries. This was announced by the Australian Government's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

For honey exports to EU members and markets, they will benefit from the move to a digital electronic certification (eCert) exchange. It's the first time the department has moved from a fully manual process to eCert, enabling paperless certificate exchange to make trade deals simpler, more efficient and more secure.

Under the new system, honey exporters will no longer need to submit paper applications to the department for their export certification, which will significantly reduce processing times, according to Acting Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Matt Koval .

“The move to eCert is part of the department's digital reforms to modernize agricultural export trading systems, streamline processes and provide significant benefits to our honey exporters”, Koval said.

“More than fifty overseas markets have their export certification issued through Nexdoc for honey and apiculture products, and this will ensure that Australia's high quality agricultural products continue to meet the needs of trading partners around the world. ", continues the secretary. "Using Nexdoc, honey exporters can use the new self-service functionality to digitally file, modify and replace their export certificates with minimal intervention on the part of the department."

“This eCert connection with the EU enables a government-to-government exchange of Australia's honey export certification”, concludes Koval. All countries that are part of the EU Traces NT digital platform will now receive their certification electronically.

The move to a digital certification process is expected to benefit honey exporters and contribute to the projected record $75 billion worth of agricultural exports in 2022/23.