Tuesday, 19 October 2021 10:55

Deer sector looks to bounce back from Covid low

Written by  Peter Burke
Deer Industry NZ is expecting venison prices to recover next year. Deer Industry NZ is expecting venison prices to recover next year.

New products, new markets and a lot of hard work look set to help the NZ deer industry recover from the hit it took at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Deer Industry NZ chief executive Innes Moffat says the industry is quietly confident about the future knowing it has a good product, access to markets and an expanding consumer base. He says this will see the price of venison recover next year.

But Moffat concedes that the past 18 months have been very challenging for the industry, which prior to Covid had been doing very well. He says it was one of the most stable primary sectors until it was hit by the Covid whammy, which saw overseas markets literally disappear overnight.

He says before that the industry was capturing a greater share of the USA market and beginning to make forays into China. Moffat says most of that growth was in the food service sector, which offered superior returns to farmers.

"Unfortunately, with Covid, two thirds of our outlets - namely restaurants and events catering - shut down and we were just left retail.

"The price of venison dropped pretty quickly and importers cancelled orders. In March, April and May last year, exports dropped to very low levels," he told Rural News.

Moffat says this meant the marketing companies had to innovate and find new products and markets to align with customer needs, especially as more countries open up. He says they have been successful in this, getting chilled meat into retail in North American and a bit of a focus on retail items for China. They have also been working on new products to suit Chinese cuisine.

"The companies have developed some new packaging materials and new items are now securing shelf space in retail. For example, Silver Fern Farms - which has been developing retail items for North America - is now selling some of these items in more than 800 stores across the USA.

"So that's from a standing start, where last year they didn't have anything. They have also been developing their online offering, so more sales by third party websites; also more of the home meal delivery service."

But Moffat says while gains are being made, it is simply not possible to turn things around overnight. He says there are issues in Europe with a hangover of frozen venison left over from last season depressing prices.

"It is our expectation that we will see that backlog consumed this year, which means that we will be starting 2022 in a much better position than 2021. Along with the other changes we are doing, we are confident we will be stronger in 2022 than we were a year ago."

Logistics and Market Challenges

The deer industry, like most other NZ primary sectors, is being badly hit by shipping delays and rapidly rising freight costs.

 Moffat says shipping delays are having a real impact on the ability to get high value, chilled product to overseas markets. He says the season for sending chilled venison runs out at the end of this month, but the window for shipping this product has been cut by a week to allow for the inevitable shipping delays.

"Normally you would shift to airfreight and there is good demand for airfreight product, but air freight rates have trebled and also there is a lack of space, which is extremely frustrating for us," he told Rural News. "There is good demand there for chilled venison but we can't get as much chilled venison into the market as we would like."

Back on the land, Moffat says most deer farmers are holding their nerve, staying, and hoping that things will improve. The deer schedul is sitting at $7.40 per kg, and he says while it may drop slightly, it is unlikely to hit the low of last season when it dropped below $6.00.

However, like other farmers deer producers' input costs such as fuel and fertiliser are rapidly going up.

Moffat says much of the news for deer farmers in the past 18 months has not been good, but he says while a few farmers are exiting the industry or reducing their hind numbers, most are prepared to stay in the game.

He knows of some deer farmers who are actually expanding their operations in the expectation that things will get better and they can take advantage of this.

"We are assuring our farmers that as our markets reopen, the people who were buying our venison and enjoying this before Covid are still there and they are going to be coming back and buying it again and enjoying it."

More like this

Covid's urban/rural divide

According to a new study from the University of Otago, there was a visible rural/urban divide in Covid-19 vaccination rates.

Covid inquiry to visit Northland

Better understanding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the people of Northland, and the role communities played in the pandemic response, will be the focus of a visit from the Covid-19 Inquiry, says inquiry chair Professor Tony Blakely.

Reflecting a challenging period

Damien O'Connor admits his six years in office were incredibly challenging, with Covid, droughts, floods, storms, M. bovis and volcanic eruptions to name a few.

Editorial: Time for change

OPINION: With election day only a few days away and advance voting well underway, there appears to be a mood for change in rural and provincial New Zealand.

More pain yet!

China's slower than expected recovery from Covid-19 and an oversupply of Australian sheep meat is causing problems for NZ sheep farmers.

Featured

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Alliance's Pure South cuts win gold

Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.

Dairy demand on the rise

There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.

Fert use tumbles as prices spike

Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.

National

Machinery & Products

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

A different shade of blue for Norwood

Norwood and ARGO Tractors, the Italian manufacturer of Landini and McCormick tractors, have announced an agreement that gives Norwood exclusive…

Kubota tests diesel engines

Kubota last month used the UK LAMMA Show to test the water with its new 200hp, four-cylinder 09-series diesel engines.

Claas rings up some big numbers

The Claas Group finished fiscal year 2023 with a substantial leap in sales that reflected the high demand for agricultural…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Too late?

OPINION: Your canine crusader reckons moves by the new government to try and breathe new life into the country's ailing…

Going rogue!

OPINION: This old mutt suggests the new government is going to have to move fast to rein in a number…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter