Spanish Pork Exports Strengthened in Asia

SPAIN - The last quarter of 2014 continued the trend of increasing Spanish exports, bringing fresh and frozen pork shipments for the whole year up almost seven per cent to 1.05 million tonnes.
calendar icon 2 March 2015
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October, in particular, saw a surge in exports to over 100,000 tonnes in the month, as festive procurement occurred. However, throughout 2014, the EU share of Spanish exports dropped from over 80 per cent in 2013 to below 75 per cent .

While remaining the primary recipient, France took seven per cent less Spanish pork, along with reductions to the smaller markets of Germany, Poland and the UK. Italy (up three per cent ) and Portugal (two per cent ), however, increased slightly on the year and combined with France to take nearly half of all Spanish exports.

As supply across the EU was ample in light of the loss of the Russian market, unit prices fell to promote trade; the price of Spanish exports to the rest of the EU fell by around two per cent , dropping the value by four per cent . However, with the success of non-EU marketing, Spanish pork exports overall for 2014 were worth just under €2.5 billion, up €137 million on the year.

As focus shifted towards Asian markets, Spanish exporters took advantage of countries where domestic production has been disrupted by disease. Notably Japan and the Philippines more than doubled their volumes, whilst South Korea tripled its.

China also increased purchases by a third as pork continues to be a staple for its growing population. In conjunction with this, more offal was exported, primarily to Asian markets, in 2014. As a net exporter, Spain also successfully grew markets for other pig meat, including processed products, speciality hams and sausages.

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