At $8.63, the spring peak of the 2015 venison schedule was 11% higher than 2014 and the highest since 2011, Deer Industry NZ (DINZ) chief executive Dan Coup said.
“Venison prices peak each year in spring in response to demand from traditional game meat markets in Europe. Demand for chilled venison during the 2015 season was solid, with air freight shipments continuing up to Christmas.”
The average stag venison schedule now stands at 728cents//kg, compared with 630c/kg at the same time last year – an increase of 16%. This reflects an 11% currency gain and a 5% market gain.
Digging a little deeper into the figures, Coup says the market price gain reflects a 12% increase in the kilogram value of chilled venison exports.
“Chilled exports made up 17% by volume and 30% by value of total venison exports in 2015,” he says. “The total value of chilled exports increased by 10% while the volume dropped by 1%. Overall venison exports dropped in volume by 5% to 15,035 tonnes.”
Coup said a key industry objective was to build year-round demand for chilled venison at premium prices in new markets and new segments of existing markets. It was also the focus of the Passion2Profit strategy, a Primary Growth Partnership programme between DINZ and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
“At present, the largest year-round market for chilled NZ venison is North America, with 600t worth $NZ12 million sold there in 2015,” he said.
“Sales there have been under the Cervena promotional banner since the appellation was launched in 1993. This year we will be undertaking further activity in new Cervena markets like the Netherlands which are part of P2P, as well as existing Cervena markets like North America which are not.”
The industry hoped the success of these strategies would be reflected in sustainable increases in both venison prices and deer herd numbers.
Hinds made up nearly 55% of last year’s venison kill, which means the national breeding herd and the annual venison kill will continue to decline. The total kill in the 12 months to November 30 (stags and hinds) was 383,740, down 7.5% on the same period in 2014.
“One of the reasons why there is a high proportion of hinds in the kill is that some farmers are retaining stags to rebuild their velvet herds, in response to a five year run of firm velvet prices,” Coup said.
“All the same, it would be good to see hinds making up a little less than 50% of the total. This would result in a small annual increase in the hind herd, which has to be for the long-term good of the industry.”
