The Consortium - News & Events - The Parma Ham Consortium

06.09.05

Despite a strong Euro, the export results achieved in the main foreign markets (United States, Canada and Japan) are excellent. In the first 8 months of 2005, 1 million 400 thousand kg of Parma Ham were shipped abroad, an extremely positive result showing a 9% increase compared with the same period in 2004. The Canadian market is also holding up well at around 100,000 kg of product, confirming once again last year’s positive results. In Japan, Consortium companies sold 380,000 kg of Parma an increase of 14.5%. Regarding pre-sliced, the results have been extraordinary closing the first 8 months of 2005 with an increase of 14.6%: 2 million and 100 thousand kg of sliced ham, equal to 20 million packets, strengthening this segment’s position as being the most active with a growth trend that has seen volumes double over the past 5 years. The pre-sliced packet market is growing both in Italy (+19.4%) as well as abroad (+12.9%) an indication of growing consumer awareness towards the versatility of self-service products. In some countries – Germany for example – growth is more than 25%: more than 1 million and 800 thousand pre-sliced packs have been sold, equal to more than 170,000 kg of product. “At the moment, the Parma Ham export market represents 18%” confirmed Stefano Tedeschi, president of the Parma Ham Consortium. “It is our aim over the next few years to increase this amount considerably. To do this, we need to promote the product, educating the consumer about the product’s naturalness and genuineness, features which distinguishes it from other products. Consumers living in far away countries – such as the Chinese market which we are about to enter – have to be aware of Parma Ham’s quality, know about it’s uniqueness and special preservation techniques”. One of the Consortium’s next missions is to take part in the Anuga Exhibition in Cologne, the biggest international food exhibition in Europe; an opportunity to present the Consortium’s new management to the market and the German press. While we are on the subject, we should remember that the German market is one of the main foreign markets for Prociutto di Parma (second in Europe after France) and in 2004 alone, 300,000 hams where sold on the German market equal to more than 1 million kg of product.