Velvet farming stability picking up

Farmers in the temperamental velvet industry could soon find more financial stability if the value of antlers remains stable.  After a dismal two years of velvet sales, the market has bounced back to an export price of $100 a kg, up from $50 a kg in 2007 reports The Southland Times.  New Zealand Velvet Marketing marketer John Smith said the industry was sensitive to supply and demand trends, and had been dramatically affected by fluctuations in the supply of velvet in the past 25 years. To try to stablise the industry, New Zealand Velvet Marketing had been marketing New Zealand's velvet to South Korea and China for the past year, which it hoped would increase the export price and bring farmers a good return for their velvet, Mr Smith said. Good marketing combined with a small supply of velvet, as the number of deer farmers decreased, should mean more stability for the industry, he said. The velvet industry took off in New Zealand in the 1980s, with velvet selling for up to $260 a kg, but has fluctuated uncontrollably since. Deer Industry NZ chief executive Mark O'Connor said the prices were almost at an economically viable point for deer farming. Makarewa deer farmer Craig Wilson made a significant investment to convert to deer before the price of velvet and venison dropped, so he was pleased to see returns rising."I had too much money invested (in deer farming) to walk away "“ I would like to see it go a bit higher, though," he said. Mr Smith said $120/kg of velvet would be a good price for long-term sustainable farming.