Italian cold cut exports reach €1.4bn

With an increase of 7% in value and 11% in volume, the industry improved its trade balance by 7.6%, reaching €875m. According to industry association Assica (Associazione Italiana delle Carne e dei Salumi), products like prosciutto, ham and mortadella proved very popular in EU and non-EU markets, including France, Germany, Switzerland, the US and Japan.

Assica president Lisa Ferrarini said: “In the past five years we have experienced two deep crises that taught us to look further, beyond the borders of the European Union. The analysis of the data suggests that, when faced with European difficulties, our companies successfully opened up to more promising markets, due to their population and income growth potential.

“However, our efforts are unfortunately not sufficient. The existence of veterinary barriers, which exclude us completely from certain markets or limit our ability to export cold cuts to only a few product categories, represents a big obstacle to our sector’s and our country’s developing potential. Removing these obstacles means allowing growth in our sector, which will lead to employment growth and development in our territory.”

She recommended prompt and incisive action to overcome these veterinary barriers, adding that postponing it would mean the loss of important opportunities for the industry.