Manuka honey—why the high price?

I have wondered why I see jars of honey sold costing some 4 dollars a ounce—so-called “Manuka honey” with “bioactive properties” and various numeric “ratings” quantifying this bioactivity. This element is related to the methyloxyl level of the honey, and is supposedly a stronger antibacterial than “ordinary” honey. These small jars are $65 or more at Whole Foods ! So, looking up the manuka honey, it is touted as the product of bees in New Zealand foraging on the Manuka bush—or Leptospermum scoparium—our ordinary Tea Tree, as it is commonly called. It blooms in Spring with small pink, white, purplish, or fuschia colored single or double flowers. Now, here in SoCal, Leptospermum is VERY commonly planted, as it is very drought tolerant, has lovely flowers and can grow into a graceful small tree with shredding bark and a twisting pendulous shape. In most parts of the country, the climate is too cold, but it seems to me, we have “manuka honey” inadvertently from our bee’s honey production.