New velvet antler agreement with China brings huge benefits to industry

A red deer in velvet.
photo: 123 RF

Deer antler exporters breathed a sigh of relief after frozen velvet antlers were allowed into China this season.

Last year China announces suspension of imports of frozen velvet antlers The company decided to use only dried antlers and sell them to the traditional medicinal market.

Since then, MPI officials have been meeting with their Chinese counterparts and have managed to secure a deal for the start of the new antler season.

New Zealand exports about $70 million worth of deer antlers to China each year, most of which is frozen.

Rhys Griffiths, chief executive of the Deer Industry Association (DINZ), said a lot of work had gone into the agreement and exporters were very grateful to MPI.

“Deer antlers are growing now so exporters will soon be in the market to negotiate for next season, so it’s very good timing.

“MPI has reached an agreement that has been approved by both parties, but I will be relieved once the agreement is approved and the first shipment is shipped.”

Griffith said DINZ is working with several exporters to conduct trial shipments as soon as possible to implement the new protocol and test that the system is working properly.

“MPI certainly did, and we are very grateful to them for responding quickly to this issue. Velvet is currently growing and the first shipment will be shipped to China in the coming months.”

He said market conditions in China were interesting at the moment, but he expected sales to remain strong.

“We are in a pretty good position with deer antler, and we’ve seen the deer antler industry grow from about $30 million at farm gate to $120 million over the last 10 to 12 years, and that demand is being fulfilled through contemporary health products, particularly in Korea.

“In China, we are seeing these products start to gain popularity and in June this year we signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing Tong Ren Tang Co Ltd, a large health supplement company, to sell our deer antler products, which has helped drive growth.”