Chinese market set to import Parma Ham

22.11.07

Parma, 22nd November 2006 – Another success for the Parma Ham Consortium: after Singapore, Mexico and South Korea, China is now officially open to the King of Hams. Today, a delegation led by Minister De Castro met with the Vice Minister of AQSIQ (Chinese Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine) who sanctioned the licences granted to the companies that will export Italian ham into China.

Around 30 companies producing Prosciutto di Parma are now licensed after having presented their applications. Prosciutto di Parma will be exportable from the beginning of 2007. The opening of the Chinese market is the culmination of long and painstaking work.  Negotiations started back in July 2003 with a visit to AQSIQ headquarters in Peking by the Minister for Health together with the Consortium. During this visit, the foundations were laid for future export to China with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in which the general conditions of partnership between the two countries were set out regarding the trading of pork based products.

 To check Prosciutto di Parma’s healthiness, the Chinese Health Authorities visited more than twenty production plants with the last visit taking place in September 2006.

“We are extremely satisfied:  the Parma Ham Consortium has worked closely with the relevant institutions so that our production companies could export to China.  The credit isn’t just ours, it is also down to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy which have conducted negotiations in an exemplary manner” said Stefano Fanti, chief executive of the Consortium, currently in Peking with Minister De Castro.

The opening of the Chinese market comes at an important time for the protection of PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) products in China: in actual fact an agreement between the European Union and China for the reciprocal guaranteeing of selected GI products (Geographical Indication) is currently being finalized.

Parma Ham is the European cured ham market leader, producing 10 million hams for a total consumer value of 1,800 million euro. It is on the table of consumers in more than 60 markets worldwide, with more than 1,700,000 exported hams equal to an export turnover of more than 500 million euro.

- top -