Business Rural Winter 2021

62 | Provelco punching above its weight Photos: The Provelco team in front of the new coldstore. Provelco general manager, Ross Chambers Formed nearly 20 years ago by a group of 22 deer farmers who wanted to stabilise and strengthen the path to market for their deer velvet, Provelco remains a 100% producer-owned coop- erative. General Manager Ross Chambers is proud of what has been achieved, even though he is aware that the rate of progress might sometimes seem slow. “It is important to remember that there was no welcome mat laid out for us; we have had to earn respect through performance every step of the way,” he says. That has meant building a track record of consistency and reliability while providing a high- quality service to members in what has been a dynamic and uncertain marketplace. “Over the past six years our volume has grown 25%. We’re now the third largest exporter of deer velvet from New Zealand which shows pleasing progress.” After several well-intentioned attempts at working with others, the cooperative decided to “go it alone” in 2010 and has been operating from its base in Wigram since then. The 2020/21 season has seen an upgrade of the plant and the addition of a new coldstore, representing a huge step forward. Developing a reputation for quality in the marketplace and moving from win-lose to more durable, negotiated outcomes were seen as important to progress. “We are not spot sellers or speculators; instead we work with regular customers – year in, year out. With a reputation for quality and a no surpris- es policy, Provelco has been able to build strong relationships with buyers in Korea and China. This is a key part of providing consistently com- petitive returns to our members.” New Zealand deer velvet has long been valued in traditional oriental medicine as a tonic to help boost the body’s natural immune system, improve strength and aid recovery from strenuous exer- cise. A real shift has been seen over the last 10 years towards deer velvet being used in modern health food formulations sold in a diverse range of products. “This is helping to raise demand for New Zealand deer velvet. We’re already working with health food companies based in Korea and are now part of a coalition to develop new business in China. The coalition has a business develop- ment manager based in the Primary Collective NZ offices in Shanghai.” Ross acknowledges that there is plenty to do and cheerfully admits he is allergic to hype - “for me it’s about performance and results.” DEER » Provelco “We are not spot sellers or speculators; instead we work with regular customers – year in, year out. With a reputation for quality and a no surprises policy, Provelco has been able to build strong relationships with buyers in Korea and China. This is a key part of providing consistently competitive returns to our members.” Progress in meeting health food company specifications has been a gradual process for New Zealand’s deer velvet industry. A new track and trace system called VelTrak, developed by Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ), is set to start from the 2021/22 season. It will give buyers the assurance of farm to market traceability and proof of integrity which is important when dealing with health food manufacturers that have invested in retail brands. “All our customers are important but growth will come from selling deer velvet as a high- quality ingredient to health food manufacturers. To do that, we have to be achieving a premium price by developing premium specifications.” ThinkingAhead - Moving Forward Proud to supply global logistics solutions to Provelco Co-operative 4 Richard Pearse Road, ChristchurchAirport P03 964 6949 M0 21 457 602 Email: nick.lye@hellmann.com PROFESSIONAL LIVESTOCK BROKERS LEADING WITH TRADITIONAL VALUES FOR EXPERT KNOWLEDGE, KNOW HOW AND CAN DO, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PW&A LIVESTOCK BROKER Proud to be supporting Provelco Co-operative Kim Newth