Venison demand up despite Euro woes

The deer sector is enjoying stable pricing patterns at the moment, as it's production is neatly equalled by demand for its product. In an industry whose historical performance has been littered with boom and bust cycles, the present situation is welcome by most farmers.

Land use changes and a period of poor prices saw many exit the industry, and a relocation of much of the nations herd to hill country areas. Those that have stayed with farming this animal are now enjoying a period of stable pricing in both venison and velvet. The industry focus is on trying to improve the deer sectors productivity in fawning percentage and growth rates of young animals so the lucrative chilled trade can be supplied.

With much of the easier country suitable for finishing now dominated by the swing to dairying, operators have had to look to improve their management skills to achieve young animals growth rates on later country. The use of preferred plant cultivars such as lucerne, chicory and red clover especially while on the hind has improved weaning weights and improved autumn feeding has allowed animals to reach spring targets earlier.

Progress is being made in recognising the genes of superior growth rate animals by the industry and in conjunction with using the wapiti as a meat sire, the sector is well placed for big productivity gains.

European diners are still selecting New Zealand venison on restaurant menus, despite the economic woes of many countries on the continent. The game season had a slow start in September because of unseasonably hot weather, with chefs waiting until conditions cooled before placing the seasonal specialty on menus reports Stuff. Deer supplies from New Zealand start to taper off now, but European consumption of the festive meat will continue to run into next month in the main markets of Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Whether venison prices will stand up to the financial pressures next year in the valuable European market appears doubtful at this stage. Deer Industry New Zealand venison marketing services manager Innes Moffat said venison markets had performed well for the season ending September and into the new season, considering the fragile economies of some European countries.

He said there was still good demand in countries with strong currencies such as Switzerland, which traded in swiss francs, and Sweden in krona, with sales in line with industry expectations. ''We haven't seen evidence yet the threat of recession has led to a downturn by consumers.''

New Zealand is the largest exporter of venison in the world with 85 per cent of its exports bound for Europe. About 7 per cent of overall venison value comes from shipments to the well heeled United States market. The meat schedule dipped to $8.85 a kilogram earlier this week for a 55-60kg stag, which is up on $7.90 last year and the five-year average of $7.39.

Moffat said high prices for chilled venison were underpinned by rising returns for food, particularly red meat, and a large effort by the deer industry to improve venison's position. The price gap between venison and other red meat has closed the past six months, helping to boost sales, he said. Prices typically fall another $1.50/kg after Christmas as demand tapers and would indicate farmers could expect $7.75-$8/kg. This would be up $1 on the five-year average and $2 up on the 10-year average.