From Farm To Fork

The activities related to the pork sector retain a high importance in the EU's agri-food field. We have surplus in production which leads to the need to export more than 4 million tonnes to third countries. The competition in the world market is fierce, USA, Brazil and Canada being our main competitors. These countries are far from our strict standards of production quality, not respecting our standards of animal welfare as well as food safety, the best example being the authorization of the use of betagonists (ractopamine) in pig feed. This leads to lower production costs than Europeans, which is a disadvantage for EU producers on the international market. The fact that the importing countries are increasingly concerned about food safety in this field works to our advantage.  Our aim is to show to the consumers from the target countries our production conditions. It is in this sense we aim to boost in the Chinese market the awareness on advantages of our production system. China was the country chosen for this action as it is the world's largest importer, absorbing about 50% of our exports. In this program we will clearly show all our traceability systems that allow us to affirm that we produce the safest meat in the world. Due to the food scandals that have plagued China, Chinese consumers are increasingly worried about food safety. That is why our campaign will focus on European food safety, traceability and authenticity of pork. With regard to processed products we will focus on their quality, diversity and tradition.