Deer Industry New Zealand reports Malcolm and Kathy Kane paid $128,000 for a third-year stag, the first time a sire has breached the $100,000 mark since the 2001/2002 season.
Continuing stability in the velvet industry and market demand has helped underpin another good year for those selling sires for both velvet and venison breeding, said Deer Industry NZ chief executive Dan Coup.
“Generally a round of good sales is a positive indicator for the industry and this has been the best round of strong sales for a number of years,” he said. “There’s certainly a change of mood in the market.”
The dairy industry downturn has seen less land grabbed for conversions which, along with the prices being obtained this season for velvet and venison exports, have led to anecdotal reports larger deer farmers are looking to expand, he said.
Coup said it takes a couple of years for increased herd figures to filter through, usually evident by the number of animals processed during the killing season which kicks off in November.
While New Zealand is the world leader in farmed deer with around 1 million nationwide on about 2000 farms, the industry has followed a similar path to sheep with changing land use leading to a gradual decline in stock numbers in the past decade.
The deer velvet season is continuing on a stable note with prices comparable to last year’s good levels due to a decline in the kiwi dollar lifting returns, a continued increase in velvet being consumed in healthy food preparations, and dried exports benefiting from a combined 13% tariff reduction in South Korea.
Prices being achieved for venison were also up due to the currency effects and recovering demand for frozen meat in continental Europe and North America, Coup said, though the industry needed to be profitable long-term rather than seasonally.
DINZ and the government launched Passion2Profit, a $16 million Primary Growth Partnership, in May last year which aims to open up export markets beyond Europe and North America and lift profitability by improving on-farm practices and the uptake of new technology by producers.
The seven-year programme aims to deliver $56 million extra in annual revenues from 2022 by improving the production and marketing of venison which makes up the bulk of the industry’s annual $260 million in exports.
Much of the effort is on developing six new markets including into Asia, with China one of the first to be investigated. Coup said the industry wanted to avoid being too reliant on its main market of Europe where demand peaks before the start of the processing season in New Zealand. That leads to more frozen rather than chilled meat being sold, for lower prices.
Last year exporters trialled selling the Cervena brand, first launched in New Zealand in 1992, into the Netherlands. Coup said the results were positive enough to repeat the pilot this year and to expand into other parts of continental Europe as selling chilled product in summer months significantly lifts venison’s profitability.
