VELVET POOLS
By David Walker, Inverloch.
Manager of the Australian Velvet Pools.
Since the restructuring of the Deer Farmers' Federation of Australia (DFFA), the Association is now known as Deer Industries Association of Australia (DIAA). The Australian Velvet Pools Pty. Ltd.(AVP) which is a wholly owned company of the DFFA has also acquired the new name of Australian Deer Horn and Co Products Pty Ltd (ADH).
AVP started operations in 1990 to provide an outlet for the growers who produced a small quantity of mixed species velvet throughout Australia. The company operated out of Brisbane and was relocated to Melbourne in 1994. Over the ensuing years, the throughput has grown in terms of quality and quantity.
ADH co-ordinates the collection of deer antler. First of all it is collected from regions in each state and then transported to the capital cities. It is then taken to Laverton, Melbourne, for grading and selling to international markets mainly in Hong Kong, China, Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand.
ADH is currently actively seeking new buyers in China. The population of 1.2 billion people is becoming more affluent and seeking traditional ingredients for food and medicine. ADH is promoting Australian velvet overseas and urges growers to harvest their product to National Velvet Accreditation standards. This will lift our international sales even further. As well as the overseas market, we are seeing more and more velvet purchased, processed and consumed on the domestic market.
Educational charts are available through the DIAA-VB Bookshop. These charts depict the latest changes in the timing of when you should cut the velvet.
To keep abreast of world best practices, ADH is implementing a Quality Assurance program. Growers need to harvest their velvet accordingly and remember that hygiene is of paramount importance, from harvesting through to the freezing and storage of product.
ADH will develop as the supply of velvet increases and we will move into the next industry phase of processing and marketing of deer horn and also co-products.
For further information, please contact: David Walker, Phone (056) 745520.
Page courtesy of VicDeer
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