TRADITIONAL TRADE IN VELVET
by Bob Bennett

Introduction

For some thousands of years, throughout Asia in particular, there has been substantial trade in deer velvet. Perhaps the largest trading is done in Korea where it competes with some of the rarer types of ginseng as an elixir of the gods and an essential ingredient in the preparation of the most expensive Chinese or oriental medicines.

Traditional Supply

The supply of velvet or deer horn as it is also known has come to Korea from countries which have been known to be traditionally a source of good quality product, namely Russia (what was Manchuria) and China. Ancient books that have been handed down are the pharmacopoeia of guidelines for thousands of herbs, and of course deer antler. These books are the foundations of the oriental medicine trade. They are well understood by all - they form an integral part of the Korean government's policy for the importation of a wide variety of natural herbs, ginseng and deer antler. These countries are as well domestic users of all these products so have a great understanding of their many uses.

Markets

Traditional markets for deer velvet include Korea, Japan, Russia, China, Taiwan and Singapore and now to a growing market of ethnic populations in other parts of the world including western Europe, USA, Indonesia, Thailand and of course, New Zealand. These ethnic populations in the USA and parts of Europe particularly have been the catalyst in interesting European people in the use of Chinese medicines and in deer velvet. The demand from this latter group is expanding quite rapidly and in our own country there are now quite a variety of products made from deer antler readily available. This will continue to expand as new products are developed more suitable to the western palate and greater knowledge of benefits is more widely understood. The trade by tradition has been developed by small groups of traders who control the importation and distribute through large open markets which supply both individual requirements as well as other domestic wholesale traders.

Importers and groups of local distributors are very closely intertwined having loyalties together which stretch back many years. We do not see very much open competition between importers and distributors and if there is a parting of the ways between importers and distributors it quickly becomes common knowledge among the trade, and is perhaps the only time that genuine competitiveness is apparent until new arrangements are cemented with perhaps another importer.

Distribution and Sale

It is important to note that the actual mixtures and indeed the herbs used in oriental medicines differ from region to region and family to family. Availability has obviously been an important reason - the constant factor has always been, in addition to these herbs however different the mix, the adding of deer velvet and/or ginseng. So we have individuals shopping at these large markets, which consist of many varieties of herbs, who in their home make up their mixtures or tonics and add deer horn, the quantity of which varies according to the pocket.

Therefore if you hear that Chinese or oriental medicines are inconsistent and don't work remember we are not comparing the same thing - they are very different as I have said - it depends on herb availability and previous family knowledge, money resource and perhaps what a particular person told their grandparents who have passed the information through the family. In later years we have seen the development of universities offering a 5 to 6 year course studying oriental herbs and medicines. Graduates of these universities are now in private practise - some have their consulting rooms at the markets. All these graduates are offering a more consistent mix pertaining to the complaint or symptom. They make up prescriptions on their premises. As far as velvet is concerned we now see propriety products on sale already packaged with instructions as to use. Prior to this development there was no course or qualification that could be obtained. People learnt the art by practical experience in the market place, some in lieu of education, so variations in their recommendations to the patients were tremendous. Today there is a course being run at the University of Hawaii and books on oriental herbs and medicines are now available in English. You do not have to go to a doctor for a prescription. You can still buy all the ingredients in the markets and make your own product.

Trade in velvet has always been tightly controlled at the importing level. There are specific distributors who handle velvet and others, in spite of handling other herbs, are not interested in the handling of velvet.

There are many reasons for this:

• Velvet is expensive - there is a time lag from harvest to finished product, sometimes 3 to 5 months with large amounts of money outlaid.
• Government duties and tariffs are high and these now have to be paid before product clears customs.
• Local distributors and market buyers have strong allegiance to existing importers, as much as anything because of verbal credit agreements.
• Finally the products quality has to be assured; this takes time and trust to develop.
• Traditionally large companies have not been involved; it has been a very personal hands on business.

New Zealand has not been a traditional supplier of deer horn but our processing quality gives us a consistency in the market place which has created the demand for our product. We have only just arrived and we have a very long way to go.

Usage

The common attitude of westerners is starting to change when it comes to natural medicines very seldom if ever do they cause side-effects and most are preventatives as against cures. Keep yourself healthy and maintain good health by taking regular courses of our natural products are common beliefs and sayings.

Most of us in this room, particularly we Europeans, have heard of deer horn as an aphrodisiac and it certainly is used for this purpose. However it is only one use. Almost 30% of velvet used is by women, particularly those who wish to have a baby or are pregnant - it is used to ensure good strong healthy blood.

Finally you may be interested in some facts from the Kyung Dong market in Seoul, Korea:

Approximately 1000 shops, 300 oriental doctors clinics, 290 oriental chemists, and 3000 different kinds of oriental medicines are traded. Turnover daily is NZ$2.323 million. In China, in one market where I have spent some time, out of 220 stalls, all of which are numbered, over 100 were offering deer horn or velvet, some of which could easily be identified as from New Zealand.

All of these stall-holders draw their stock apparently from two distributors who have a storage facility nearby. In the time l was there with the distributors many stall-holders took products. In not one case was anything written down or did money change hand. This must reinforce the importance of the traditional market and their methods of trading. Trust is paramount. Individual arrangements are very personal and invariably are verbal.

From the 1993 Proceedings of the World Deer Congress. Bob Bennett is a director of Komex Corporation, and has been involved in processing and exporting velvet since the 1970's and has been a director on the New Zealand Game Industry Board.