Tariff-free velvet antler imports from New Zealand should pose no cause for concern to Taiwanese ranchers, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday after touting the past decade’s advances in deer breeding techniques.
The ministry’s Taiwan Livestock Research Institute has dedicated significant resources to boost the competitiveness of the medicinal deer antler industry after Taipei and Wellington inked the Agreement Between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC) in 2013, institute director-general Huang Jeng-fang (黃振芳) said.
The institute spearheaded numerous research programs that increased the maximum yield of velvet antlers from 300g to 500g per head, while the stud buck-to-doe ratio for breeding surged from 1:20 to 1:100, she said.
Photo: CNA
In addition, new feed formulas have reduced the cost of raising deer by 30 percent, Huang said.
These productivity and efficiency increases are matched by marketing and sales innovations that have created novel types of antler products other than typical medicinal liquors, she said.
Medical studies funded by the institute showed that deer antler extract used in wound ointments can promote healing, she said.
Government and private sector collaborations led to the creation of new products that expand the consumer market for velvet antlers, including red-date medicinal beverages for women, jelly snacks catering to children and essence of chicken infusions, Huang said.
Taiwan would learn from South Korea’s example in developing antler products that possess a local competitive advantage, she said, citing the latter’s invention of Korean ginseng and antler extracts.
Institute researcher Lin Hsin-hung (林信宏) acknowledged that the cost of raising deer in New Zealand is 50 percent lower than in Taiwan, but added that Formosan sambar antlers were more beneficial to the immune system than European red deer.
The institute plans to conduct more studies with the National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University on the medical properties of Taiwanese velvet antlers in anticipation that antlers produced in the nation would likely outperform their competitors, he said.
Taiwan Deer Farmers’ Association chairwoman Chang Shu-chen (張淑珍) said Taiwanese velvet antlers are of a higher quality than foreign imports and the nation’s farmers treat their animals with greater care, which yields a superior product.
The outlook for Taiwanese deer farming remains optimistic because marketing studies showed that 80 percent of the industry’s business stems from custom-ordered products from a clientele known to the producer, she said.
A full listing of antler-based items can be found on the Deer Farmers’ Association Web site at the address https://deardeer.org.tw/index.php, Chang added.
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