Venison statistics show a market shaped by two very different systems: New Zealand’s export-focused deer industry and Mauritius’ combination of extensive deer chassés, intensive farms, and seasonal hunting. The figures below cover trade, export value, unit prices, herd size, land use, production, and consumption, with the measurement year or period stated for each figure.
Contents
- New Zealand’s role in the venison market
- Export value and product mix
- Chilled and frozen venison prices
- Where New Zealand venison goes
- The New Zealand deer herd and farm base
- Mauritius deer farming and land use
- Mauritius production and consumption
New Zealand’s role in the venison market
New Zealand is described by the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report NZ2022-0019 as by far the largest exporter of deer meat and products in the world. Its deer industry had grown into an average NZ$280 million export earner per year for the agricultural sector. The same report used an exchange-rate assumption that put this average annual figure at about US$175 million.
The industry is relatively young compared with many traditional livestock sectors. New Zealand’s first commercial deer farm was established in the early 1970s. By 2022, the industry was spread across 2,000 farms, while venison made up 91% of total deer product export volume.
The 2022 figures also show that volume and value do not have identical product shares. Venison accounted for 58% of total deer product export value, while deer product co-products represented over 40% of export value. In the report’s more specific estimate, venison exports were worth NZ$175 million, or US$110 million, in 2022. Total deer product exports were estimated at NZ$303 million, or US$191 million.
These are estimates for 2022, and the exchange-rate conversions are the report’s stated US-dollar equivalents. They should not be read as a current exchange-rate conversion or as a forecast for later years.
Export value and product mix
The export totals provide a useful picture of how broad the deer industry is beyond table meat. Venison was the largest named component by export volume, reaching 91% of total deer product export volume in 2022. Its share of export value was 58%, reported both as “just over 58 percent” in the industry description and as 58% in the 2022 estimate.
Co-products were especially significant in value terms. The 2022 estimate placed co-product exports at NZ$129 million, equivalent to US$81 million under the report’s exchange-rate assumption. That was above the previous five-year average of NZ$90 million, or US$56 million, per year.
| New Zealand deer export measure | Period | Reported figure |
|---|---|---|
| Average annual export earnings | Industry average | NZ$280 million; about US$175 million |
| Venison exports | 2022 estimate | NZ$175 million; US$110 million |
| Total deer product exports | 2022 estimate | NZ$303 million; US$191 million |
| Co-product exports | 2022 estimate | NZ$129 million; US$81 million |
| Average co-product exports | Previous five years | NZ$90 million; US$56 million |
The comparison separates an industry-wide average from the 2022 estimates. It also shows why a venison-only view does not capture the full economic value of deer production: co-products represented over 40% of export value in 2022.
Chilled and frozen venison prices
The USDA report gives separate unit values for chilled and frozen venison from 2017 through 2021. Chilled venison had the higher value in every listed year. Its unit value was US$18.60 per kilogram in 2017, rose to US$19.18 in 2018, then declined to US$16.72 in 2019 and US$13.67 in 2020. It recovered to US$14.94 per kilogram in 2021. The five-year average chilled venison unit value was US$16.62 per kilogram.
Frozen venison followed a lower-priced pattern over the same five-year period. Its unit value was US$8.30 per kilogram in 2017 and US$10.49 in 2018. The figure then moved to US$9.30 in 2019, US$7.59 in 2020, and US$6.66 in 2021. The five-year average frozen venison unit value was US$8.47 per kilogram.
| Product | 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 |
The report describes chilled venison as the smaller market, but says it was priced almost double frozen venison. The unit values support that distinction across each year in the table. The figures are unit values, not retail prices for a particular cut, recipe, or market.
For context, the same table listed lamb at US$5.85 per kilogram in 2017 and US$7.34 per kilogram in 2021. Beef was listed at US$5.04 per kilogram in 2017 and US$5.81 per kilogram in 2021. Those comparison figures come from the same USDA report and the same table as the venison unit values.
Where New Zealand venison goes
The United States accounted for one-third of New Zealand’s total venison exports in 2022. That makes the US the largest single destination share identified in the supplied trade data, although the figure does not provide a complete country-by-country export table.
Chilled venison sales are typically destined for Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Peak demand for chilled venison occurs in October. This seasonal timing helps explain why chilled product is discussed separately from frozen product: the two formats serve different commercial patterns as well as carrying different reported unit values.
China had a different role in New Zealand’s deer trade. It imported almost 80% of New Zealand’s velvet and co-products in 2022. That figure concerns velvet and co-products rather than venison, so it should not be treated as China’s share of New Zealand venison exports.
Together, these figures distinguish three parts of the market: US demand for a major share of venison exports, European destinations for typical chilled sales, and Chinese demand for most velvet and co-products. The destination shares refer specifically to 2022 unless the report’s description is seasonal or typical rather than tied to a single measured year.
The New Zealand deer herd and farm base
New Zealand’s farmed deer herd has changed substantially over time. The national farmed deer herd peaked at 1.7 million animals in 2004. By 2022, it had fallen to just over 800,000. These two figures describe a peak and a later measured level, not a complete annual time series.
The 2022 deer industry was spread across 2,000 farms. That farm count provides scale for the production base, but the supplied figures do not specify an average herd size, farm-size distribution, or the proportion of farms focused primarily on venison.
The change from the 2004 peak to the 2022 level also needs careful wording. “Just over 800,000” is an approximate description, while 1.7 million is the stated peak. The available facts support saying that the herd was less than half the peak level by 2022 in broad terms, but they do not provide a precise 2022 count or a year-by-year rate of change.
The industry’s commercial history helps frame the timeline: the first commercial deer farm was established in the early 1970s, the herd reached its reported peak in 2004, and the industry had 2,000 farms with just over 800,000 farmed deer in 2022.
Mauritius deer farming and land use
The Mauritius Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security Strategic Plan 2016–2020 describes a different venison system. Mauritius had around 58 deer chassés in its deer sector, occupying 25,000 hectares. Of that area, 15,000 hectares were privately owned deer land and 10,000 hectares were leased State forest land used by deer farming.
The reported deer population was divided between those land types. Private-land deer numbered 35,000 heads, while the State-forest deer population numbered 20,000 heads. The plan also recorded about 10,000 deer on 1,000 hectares in intensive farms.
| Mauritius deer-sector measure | Reported period or basis | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Deer chassés | Strategic plan data | Around 58 |
| Total deer-sector area | Strategic plan data | 25,000 hectares |
| Privately owned deer land | Strategic plan data | 15,000 hectares |
| Leased State forest land | Strategic plan data | 10,000 hectares |
| Private-land deer population | Strategic plan data | 35,000 heads |
| State-forest deer population | Strategic plan data | 20,000 heads |
| Intensive-farm deer | Strategic plan data | About 10,000 on 1,000 hectares |
The plan’s figures distinguish extensive land-based deer production from intensive farming. The 10,000 deer on 1,000 hectares belong to the intensive-farm figure; they should not be added to the private-land and State-forest populations without assuming that the categories are mutually exclusive.
Mauritius production and consumption
Mauritius recorded per-capita venison consumption of 0.5 kilograms in 2014. Venison was sold mainly during the June-to-September hunting season. During the closed season, intensive farms produced about 15 tonnes of good-quality venison.
The intensive-farm output figure changed sharply over the period described in the strategic plan. Output declined from 44 tonnes in 2009/2010 to 14.4 tonnes in 2014. The 15-tonne closed-season figure is close to the 14.4-tonne 2014 output figure, but the supplied facts do not state that the measures use exactly the same definition or timing, so they are best kept as separate reported values.
Most Mauritius venison output came from extensive production. Around 90% came from approximately 50 extensive deer chassés, while the remaining 10% came from 8 intensive farms. Annual venison production fluctuated between 450 and 500 tonnes over the last 10 years covered by the plan.
Those shares describe the reported production structure: extensive deer chassés supplied the bulk, and intensive farms supplied the smaller share while also providing output during the closed season. The 0.5-kilogram per-capita consumption figure is specifically for 2014, whereas the 450-to-500-tonne production range covers the preceding 10-year period described in the strategic plan.
For readers interested in cooking, the practical market distinction is clear from the statistics: Mauritius venison availability was closely linked to a June-to-September hunting season, with intensive farms supplying about 15 tonnes during the closed season. New Zealand’s data instead emphasize international trade, product format, destination markets, and the higher reported unit values of chilled venison.