Livestock report: Venison and velvet

Photo / File

Content brought to you by PGG Wrightson

Rowena Duncum from The Country talks with Tony Cochrane, National Deer and Velvet Manager for PGG Wrightson, about the big prices being paid for premium stags and bulls.

Cochrane said most prices paid were up at least 10 per cent on last year's.

He said venison prices were currently sitting around $7 a kilogram - about 30 per cent higher than last year.

But he cautioned that this was a historical low period.

However, Cochrane offered a note of optimism through Europe starting to increase its venison consumption and the US Food Service returning.

He reiterated the importance of venison as a healthy protein and that we needed to emphasise its healthy attributes.

Duncum asked about the high value of velvet sales, a useful counterweight to low venison prices.

Listen below:

She wondered if the record high prices made the velvet market unstable.

Cochrane said velvet prices had increased 25 to 30 per cent this season over last season.

He put this down to people looking to boost immunity with a safe, legitimate product from New Zealand.

He thought prices for re-growth, in particular, were exceeding what the market could afford to pay.

At this stage, growers were taking everything they could to maintain cash flow.

It had had a massive effect on the positivity of stag sales.

Duncum raised the impact of the Winter Olympics in China on the venison and velvet market.

Cochrane said China had a massive influence on many New Zealand primary exports, even though venison was not recognised as a staple part of the Chinese diet.

Some new work was ongoing in China to tap into that market, he said.

Stag and bull sales had wrapped for the year with healthy prices paid across the board.