China: a natural growth market for Spain’s quality pork products

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02:15

It’s probably not as big, and certainly not as international, as the first China International Import Expo is expected to be next November in Shanghai.

But the annual Alimentaria food and drinks fair in Barcelona, which includes stands from 70 countries, and touts 35 chefs on hand holding Michelin stars, was a good place to find out more about Spain’s pork industry association, Interporc.

It’s among the first Spanish sectors to commit to going to the Shanghai event.

Interporc International Director Daniel de Miguel said demand for high-quality pork products in Spain is stable and it’s a similar picture across Europe.

But as China’s middle-class increases, there’s a rising demand there. It’s seen as an obvious place to look for new markets, so Interporc has commissioned a study to find out more, even though it’s already been doing business in China for a decade.

“We have to know what the Chinese consumers want. We have to adapt to the Chinese consumers’ behavior,” De Miguel said. He goes to Shanghai with his team, which includes Chinese national Yao Xinting from Beijing. She’s been living in Madrid for the past few years and working at Interporc, where she communicates easily in multiple languages, such as Spanish.

There’ve been reports that the Chinese appetite for the high-end “iberico” ham, which requires extensive grazing and curing, is putting a strain on limited supplies.

De Miguel said his group represents not the “iberico” ham but a much broader group of so-called “white pork” products, including Serrano ham. Of some 46 million pigs were killed in Spain last year for food, only about three million are of the “iberico” class, he revealed.

The rest are represented by his group. There is room for growth, De Miguel suggested, especially in value-added products of the better quality hams and sausages.