Venison is a strongly export-oriented part of New Zealand’s deer industry. In 2022, venison exports were estimated at NZ$175 million (US$110 million), while total deer product exports reached NZ$303 million (US$191 million). The available figures also show a premium for venison over lamb and beef, a major US customer base, and a recent market shaped by frozen product and changing slaughter volumes.
Contents
- Market size and export mix
- Export prices by product
- Destinations and trade structure
- Production, herd, and export orientation
- How the market changed from 2017 to 2020
- Recent prices, volumes, and forecasts
Market size and export mix
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service estimated New Zealand’s total deer product exports at NZ$303 million (US$191 million) in 2022. Venison represented 58% of that total, with estimated exports of NZ$175 million (US$110 million). These figures describe the 2022 export year and include the distinction between venison and other deer products.
The rest of the deer export basket was commercially important. Co-products supplied over 40% of deer product export value in 2022, with estimated value of NZ$129 million (US$81 million). The five-year average value for co-product exports was NZ$90 million (US$56 million). Within that category, velvet and antler exports were expected to reach NZ$111 million (US$70 million) in 2022, while offal, pizzles, and tails were valued at NZ$18 million (US$11 million).
The mix shows why deer-industry statistics should not be treated as venison-only statistics. Total deer product exports include meat, velvet, antlers, offal, hides, and other items. For readers interested in the food market, the venison share is the most direct measure, while the broader total indicates the scale of the industry supporting it.
Export prices by product
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service reported separate annual values per kilogram for chilled and frozen New Zealand venison from 2017 through 2021. These are export values, not retail prices or farmgate prices.
| Product and comparison | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Five-year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chilled venison | US$18.60/kg | US$19.18/kg | US$16.72/kg | US$13.67/kg | US$14.94/kg | US$16.62/kg |
| Frozen venison | US$8.30/kg | US$10.49/kg | US$9.30/kg | US$7.59/kg | US$6.66/kg | US$8.47/kg |
| Lamb exports | US$5.85/kg | US$6.52/kg | US$6.60/kg | US$6.28/kg | US$7.34/kg | US$6.52/kg |
| Beef exports | US$5.04/kg | US$5.06/kg | US$5.30/kg | US$5.18/kg | US$5.81/kg | US$5.27/kg |
Chilled venison was valued at US$18.60 per kg in 2017 and reached US$19.18 per kg in 2018. Its reported value then declined to US$16.72 in 2019 and US$13.67 in 2020 before moving up to US$14.94 in 2021. The five-year average was US$16.62 per kg.
Frozen venison followed a lower-valued path: US$8.30 per kg in 2017, US$10.49 in 2018, US$9.30 in 2019, US$7.59 in 2020, and US$6.66 in 2021. Its five-year average was US$8.47 per kg. The USDA described chilled venison as priced almost double frozen venison in the New Zealand export mix.
The same comparison table placed lamb at US$5.85 per kg in 2017, US$6.52 in 2018, US$6.60 in 2019, US$6.28 in 2020, and US$7.34 in 2021, for a five-year average of US$6.52. Beef was valued at US$5.04, US$5.06, US$5.30, US$5.18, and US$5.81 per kg across those years, with a five-year average of US$5.27. On that export-value measure, venison had a premium over both comparison meats.
The USDA also reported that chilled venison demand peaked in October in the New Zealand export cycle. That is a seasonal trade observation, not a claim about retail demand in every country.
Destinations and trade structure
The United States was New Zealand’s largest venison customer in 2022. China was the second-largest customer, Germany the third-largest, and the Netherlands the fourth-largest, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s 2022 deer-production and trends report.
Earlier trade data from Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Compendium 2021 gives a more detailed destination split for 2020. Germany took 29% of New Zealand venison exports, the United States took 22%, and Benelux took 16%. The same report recorded that the United States accounted for 22% of exports in that year, so country shares and later rankings should be kept tied to their stated measurement periods.
The destination pattern shifted over time. The Ministry for Primary Industries reported in 2019 that the United States was importing more venison than Germany. In the nine months to 30 September 2024, the United States accounted for 37% of New Zealand venison export volumes, according to the Ministry’s December 2024 Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries.
The deer trade also includes non-meat products. Over the five years referenced by the USDA report, the United States imported more than 700 metric tonnes of deer offal. China imported 380 metric tonnes and Hong Kong imported 214 metric tonnes over the same period. These quantities are offal imports and should not be added to venison export tonnage.
Production, herd, and export orientation
Beef + Lamb New Zealand recorded 833,000 farmed deer in New Zealand in 2020. Breeding hinds accounted for 374,000 animals, weaners for 314,000, and other deer for 145,000. Those categories sum to the reported herd total and describe the farmed-deer base rather than a slaughter count.
Venison represented 18.3 thousand tonnes of total meat production in 2020. The same Beef + Lamb New Zealand compendium stated that 95% of New Zealand venison production was available for export. This high export orientation helps explain why overseas prices, shipping channels, and destination markets are central to venison-market statistics.
For 2020, Beef + Lamb New Zealand reported venison exports of 11,289 tonnes and an average venison export value of $13,557 per tonne. The report recorded $241 million FOB in total deer product exports, including $153 million FOB from venison, $67 million FOB from velvet, $42 million FOB from co-products and other deer items, and $7.4 million FOB from deer hides and leather.
These 2020 FOB figures use the source’s reported dollar format and should not be directly substituted for the USDA’s later 2022 estimates. The reports cover different years and use their own presentation conventions.
How the market changed from 2017 to 2020
The Ministry for Primary Industries reported that venison exports reached $162 million in the year ended June 2017, while export volumes fell nearly 15% in that period. Velvet exports rose 41% to $59 million, and velvet made up nearly 27% of deer product exports in 2017, compared with 11% in 2007.
For the year ending June 2018, MPI forecast venison export revenue of $200 million. It projected venison prices to be more than 18% higher than the previous year, while US venison exports increased 50% in the year to June 2018. Venison schedule prices were approaching $11 per kg carcass weight in 2018. A schedule price is a farm-sector price measure and is not the same as a retail or export price per kilogram.
For the year ending June 2019, MPI expected venison export revenue to fall 8.2% to $180 million. Even with that revenue forecast, venison export prices were about 30% higher than the five-year average in 2019. MPI also reported that the US was importing more venison than Germany by that point.
Together, these reports describe a market with changing revenue, volume, and product mix. A higher price does not necessarily mean higher total revenue when export volume is falling, and a revenue forecast should not be read as a confirmed result.
Recent prices, volumes, and forecasts
The more recent MPI figures combine reported outcomes with forecasts and projections. For the 2023/24 period, MPI forecast venison export prices to rise 3% to $14.70 per kg and reported that venison export revenue fell 1%. Frozen venison accounted for 90% of venison export volume in 2023/24. The September 2024 venison schedule reached $9.52 per kg, up 9% on the previous 12 months.
MPI expected export prices to increase 8% to $16.65 per kg in 2024/25. In the nine months to 30 September 2024, the US accounted for 37% of venison export volumes. These are period-specific export and destination measures, not a forecast that every shipment would achieve the quoted price.
The Ministry’s June 2025 outlook projected venison export revenue to be 2% lower in the year to 30 June 2025 and export volumes to drop 2%. In the nine months to 31 March 2025, total deer slaughter was 192,000 head, 9% below the same period in 2024. Processors reported 19,000 fewer animals than expected in the 2024/25 season.
The same outlook reported that EU venison export volumes were 20% lower than a year earlier in the nine months to 31 March 2025. The monthly weighted farmgate venison price was $9.16 per kg in March 2025, 6% higher than a year earlier, while farmgate prices remained stable above $8.50 per kg in 2024/25.
Finally, Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s 2025 annual reporting said that more than 90% of New Zealand red meat production is exported to more than 120 countries. That statement covers red meat production broadly, rather than venison alone, but it provides context for the international network in which New Zealand venison is sold.