19 Oct: 11:15 |  A government scheme giving away mānuka seedlings could threaten future earnings from the trees according to botanists who say enthusiasm for planting is getting ahead of scientific understanding.

Unitec associate professor Peter de Lange has been researching New Zealand mānuka and suspects there are at least three different types of mānuka in New Zealand, each with possible different properties.

“Mānuka honey as an industry is going to make us quite a lot of money but in fact there are chemical compounds, essential oils in particular, that are way, way more valuable than mānuka honey.”

De Lange said the safest way to ensure qualities are kept is to only plant mānuka where the seeds have been “eco-sourced”. Eco-sourcing means seeds have been sourced from the same area as where seedlings will be planted.

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Horticulture New Zealand is thrilled that mandatory Country of Origin labelling for fruit and vegetables got a step closer today, with the second reading of the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill passing in Parliament.

Daimler Financial Services, the financial and mobility services arm of German car maker Daimler, has taken an unspecified "strategic investment" in New Zealand company Soul Machines, which has produced a digital-created human face able to speak text with intonation and facial expressions.

The Green Party will propose an amendment to the Crown Minerals Act Amendment Bill to close a current loophole that allows for oil and gas companies to extend their permits for offshore drilling.

Blockchain is helping to fight the fakes

The MoU is signed to create a global digital network in trade finance.  The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ (ANZ.AX), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Citibank (C.N), Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) also agreed to join the digital trade information network expected to be operational by the third quarter of next year.

Seven banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L) and Banco Santander (SAN.MC), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a global digital network in trade finance aiming at allowing cheaper and easier funding for corporates, a Santander manager said on Wednesday.

“It is the first time that these banks come together to set a standard (...) that will allow cheaper access to finance because the risks are going to be reduced,” Rogier Schulpen, global head of trade and working solutions at Banco Santander, said in a phone interview. Read more . . .

Leading food company Alliance Group has won two major food awards for its premium TE MANA LAMB.

The NZ Transport Agency has set up a new, independently monitored 0800 number for industry workers or members of the public to provide information or raise concerns with vehicle certification work or other compliance issues.

Two cases of potato mop-top virus have been confirmed in Mid Canterbury, but many more are suspected, Biosecurity New Zealand says. The virus, confirmed in two crops last month, was found during routine sampling of material at a cooked-chip processing facility.

Parcel and LTL shipping software provider SmartFreight is added to the growing portfolio.