Jamie Mackay recently had a conversation about deer with Tony Cochrane, national velvet manager for PGG Wrightson.

But Mackay wanted to touch on venison first, contending that New Zealanders don’t eat enough of “one of the great meats”.

Cochrane agreed but pointed out that price is a factor - although recently prices had come into line. 

With venison being such a high-protein, low-fat option, Cochrane reckoned Kiwis should be eating venison once a week. 

Covid had reduced demand for venison overseas but the hind kill had been increasing over the last few years.

Going forward the industry is in good shape with three strong markets - the U.S., E.U. and China. 

The price is currently sitting around $9 a kilo - coming into spring it should be around $10. 

Cochrane hoped for around 11 or 12 as soon as possible. 

Mackay reckoned at those prices, venison could be an alternative to beef and lamb.

But what about velvet? 

It’s very dependent on the Asian community. 

Mackay asked how China’s lockdown had affected this.

Cochrane said it had been a topsy-turvy season for velvet.

It started strong with support from South Korean health food companies but once those big contracts were filled, demand fell away, he said.

With huge stocks on hand, there wasn’t a demand for fresh season velvet and a lot of producers had been constrained by slower sales and stocks that hadn’t sold.

However, Cochrane said stocks were moving now and the long-term outlook was strong with both the Chinese and Korean economies looking to lift their GDPs.

With the tourism sector opening up again, Mackay wondered about renewed demand for trophy stags. 

Cochrane said there are some “massive heads out there” with tourism being at a standstill for a couple of years. 

He said demand for trophy stags was an essential third leg for the deer industry.