Spain’s Interporc to strengthen its business ties in Japan

In a report in collaboration with Alimentaria the association said it carried out activities in China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, Austria, Singapore, India, UK, Portugal, Myanmar, Ivory Coast this year and will take its ‘Promotion programme’ to China 2020-2023, under the slogan 'Excellence from farm to fork'.

'Spanish quality'

As part of the programme, Interporc will organise events across 12 cities in the country including seminars, promotion in retail and Horeca (Hotel/Restaurant/Café) as well as food exhibitions, direct and reverse missions, digital advertising and public relations.

The organization will also strengthen its promotion and communication activities in Japan, including activities aimed at professionals and consumers to value the quality of the ‘Spanish brand’ in meat products.

In an exclusive interview with GlobalMeatNews, Daniel de Miguel, international director, Interporc, said Japan is the third largest economy in the world, the second largest economy in Asia, the second largest importer of pork in the world (only behind China) and the sixth largest market in the world by total volume of pork consumption. 

"Spain is Japan's third largest supplier of pork (after the US and Canada), accounting for around 10% of all pork imports in this market, but at the same time it is a very demanding market in terms of quality standards, production processes, nutritional and healthy aspects, attractive formats, and also a demand for service excellence," ​he said. 

"In recent years, we have observed the increase in the consumption of pork in Japan has been linked to the continued decline in the consumption of fish, the traditional first source of protein for Japanese consumers. ​ ​

"Japan occupies a prominent place in the Plan to support the Internationalisation of the Spanish white pig sector that Interporc will develop over the next few years, and for this reason a three-year progressive promotion is planned, aimed at professionals and end consumers, through participation in fairs such as the Supermarket Trade Show, promotions at points of sale, public relations, web and Instagram updates, creation of material, organisation of reverse missions and more. ​ ​

"In the coming years, we understand the forecasts for promotion and sales in this market are favorable and will also be supported by the EU-Japan free trade agreement, which will mainly abolish severe taxes on European products, benefiting many agri-food sector, including meat and pork products."​

The Spanish white pork sector has a rigorous traceability system to follow the entire process of a product from farm to table.

The different links of the food chain are constituted as a group from farm to fork because they all contribute to guarantee the food safety of customers with a product of recognized quality and flavor.

In addition, the Inter-professional Organization has begun a promotion and communication program in Chile to raise awareness of the excellence of Spanish processed products under the slogan ‘Amor

Chile

por el cerdo, pasión por su sabor’ (Love for the pig, passion for its flavor).

“All this work of the whole pig sector will allow us to conquer new markets and continue consolidating in those that we are already present in, with our ‘Spanish brand’ and our identity signs: sustainability, animal welfare, quality and food safety,” added de Miguel.

Interporc will be exhibiting at Alimentaria​ in Barcelona from April 20-23, 2020.