Nov 4, 2021
The 2021/22 velvet season has started on a positive note. NZ exporters are busy negotiating contracts and reporting reasonable enquiry from both Korean and Chinese buyers. This supports reports from within the markets of strong underlying consumer demand for NZ deer velvet antler.
Some velvet producers are reporting prices slightly firm on where things finished off last year. Participants throughout the supply chain are anxious to get the new seasons velvet crop through to the market during the current period of uncertainty, caused by the impacts of Covid-19.
Covid-19 continues to place risks of disruption to the supply chain, both here in NZ (if an outbreak occurs that implicates a packhouse), or in the markets (eg if China’s Dalian Port is shut down again during peak season). Shipping costs for sea and airfreight continues to remain significantly higher than previous years and is unlikely to see a return to more normal levels for the foreseeable future.
In South Korea more high-end food products containing NZ velvet have been launched over the last couple of months, which demonstrates the confidence from respected food companies in this category.
Five new products recently launched that contain NZ velvet:
1. KGC has launched a new product under its Cheong Nok brand, targeting seniors (Cheong Nok S). Cheon Nok is the number one global velvet brand and is proudly based on NZ velvet.
2. JeYagKwan launches its NZ deer velvet stick product, ‘JoOkGo’.
3. NutriOne launches Premium Nogyong Jin.
4. NS Home Shopping launches Shin JeongAe Geokuro Nogyong for women.
5. And LG Household & Health Care launches a new skin care cosmetic: Sooryehan. Of the 11 products under this skin care range, six products, including essence, cream, and eye cream contains deer velvet from New Zealand.
