Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Pampered pets push venison price

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A growing appetite for venison from a booming global pet food market has helped drive autumn venison schedules to record highs.
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While schedule prices normally peak in spring, pampered pets have continued to push prices upward to an autumn peak of $11/kg.

Deer Industry New Zealand chief executive Dan Coup said the popularity of venison as a pet food component is driven by a worldwide shift in attitudes towards companion animals from owners who want the best for their pets.

That includes an increasing interest in feeding them natural paleo-type diets.

Globally, the pet food market is worth more than US$75 billion and growing by about 4% cent a year.

Coup said trim and mechanically deboned meat is being snapped up for premium pet foods at prices that couldn’t be matched by the human food service sector. 

They now account for about $80 of the value of a deer carcase.

Venison used in special hypoallergenic pet foods for cats and dogs with skin or allergy problems and in premium products like Ziwi Peak Daily-Dog air-dried venison cuisine is selling in NZ for $189.99 for a 2.5kg bag.

“Typically, prices to farmers peak in spring when demand from European markets is at its highest then ease off from November – but not this season,” Coup said.

“The demand from the pet food sector is unprecedented. 

“Like most other markets, pet food is prone to fashion swings so there’s no way of knowing how long the demand will last but the word from the market is that prices are probably about as high as they will get.”

Not that there’s any suggestion prices to farmers are likely to fall any time soon. 

Venison production is at an historically low level and at the same time venison marketers have been making good progress finding new year-round human customers in non-traditional markets.

Coup said the combination of low supply and new demand is driving product innovation. 

“Processor-marketers are successfully developing novel grilling cuts that offer a great eating experience at prices that appeal to restaurants while increasing the overall value of the venison carcase.” 

Having greater year-round demand is a long-term goal for the industry.

But Coup said the industry’s most important group of consumers is still the Continental Europeans with their very strong seasonal preferences.

“This pet food phenomenon has changed the shape of the venison schedule this season but our expectation is that we will see a return to a more traditional schedule curve in the future.

“While the spring price premium is expected to return, future seasonal peaks and troughs are likely to be less pronounced than they have been in the past – thanks to the great market diversification work that our companies are doing.”

The deer industry views the demand from the premium pet food sector as a positive development that it expected to continue – albeit at an unknown price in the future.

“It’s a new segment and we don’t have a good understanding of whether venison pet food is here to stay or not.

“With so many pet food companies having invested in product development and marketing it’s certainly not going to disappear overnight but we will have to wait and see whether consumer demand and pricing levels are sustainable in the long term,” Coup said.

Average venison schedule prices to farmers lifted steadily from about $7.90/kg in January last year to just over $10 in December. 

Since then, they have continued to rise. 

By mid-March, a 55kg stag carcase was fetching between $10.20 and $11/kg, up from $6–$7 in March the previous three seasons.

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