23 Dec 2014

Venison companies working together

3:25 pm on 23 December 2014

The venison exporter and processor, Duncan and Co is hoping it will soon join other companies whose plants have been certified to supply venison to China.

This year seven venison processing plants received approval to export to China, which was a new market for New Zealand farmed deer meat.

Duncan and Co's general marketing manager Glenn Tyrrell said it was hoping its plants would also be cleared for China in the new year.

And it was working with four other companies on a joint marketing project.

"Because China's a bit of a clear slate so we can go in there and hopefully work collectively to position venison in that market, but personally, I think it needs to be at the very top of the market, in the five star hotels and restaurants, where they're getting a reasonable amount of western tourism and also wealthier Chinese visiting those restaurants, with western style cooking.

"They've positioned Wagyu beef and grain fed beef very, very well into that category in that sector and I think that's exactly where we need to position the high value venison cuts in that market."

Mr Tyrrell said the deer industry had an application to the Government for Primary Growth Partnership funding which was going through the final approval process, to support the joint China marketing project, as well as new initiatives for boosting chilled venison exports into Europe.