Spanish Cured Ham Exports Increase in Q1 2022 With a Growing Share Outside the European Union

According to the Spanish Serrano Ham Consortium, Spanish cured ham and shoulder exports totaled 11.4 thousand mt, rising by 14% YoY in Q1 2022. In terms of value, exports totaled €113.2 million, a 15% YoY increase

The average price rose by a modest 0.8% to €9.93/kg. The average price for the European Union was €8.97/kg, while the average price for the rest of the world was €12.44/kg.

The bulk of the trade in volume was with the European Union, which comprised 73% of the exports. It's worth noting that the rest of the world increased its share from 25 to 27% in Q1 this year. The fastest growing country outside the European Union was the US, where exports, in terms of value, rose by 82% YoY.

The consortium recently launched a plan to promote exports into the US, which has become one of its five priority destinations, as the US is the fifth largest market for this product outside of the European Union and has a high average price. The rest of the consortium’s priority destinations are France, Sweden, Mexico, and Australia.

According to data from the European Commission, exports of dried, smoked, in brine, or salted swine ham and shoulder cuts with bone (HS Code 021011) and swine boneless meat exc. bellies (HS Code 02101981) both of which include cured ham from Spain totaled 17.4 thousand mt during Jan-Apr 2022, which represents a 17.5% YoY increase. In terms of value, exports totaled €171.9 million, which represent an annual increase of 19.5%.

In terms of volume, in Jan-Apr 2022, France held the largest share, with 20%. Germany lost the first place, now representing 19% compared to 24% in the same period last year. It was followed by Portugal, which held a share of 10%, and Italy, which continued holding a share of 6%. Outside of Europe, the US increased its share from 2.7% to 4.7% this year, while China increased it from 2.3% to 4.0%. It’s worth noting that the first four major importers in Europe, in terms of volume, all except Portugal experienced a share decline in 2022 compared to 2021. Meanwhile, all non-Europe major importers, the US, China, Mexico and Japan, all increased their share in Spanish exports for these products. 

Source: Tridge and Eurostat

It's worth noting that in those European countries, the average price was considerably lower than the four other countries outside of Europe. Prices averaged €5.53/kg in Portugal, €8.51/kg in Germany, €9.57/kg in France, and €9.66/kg in Italy. Meanwhile, average prices stood at €14.71/kg in China, €12.66/kg in the US, €11.83/kg in Japan, and €11.48/kg in Mexico.

In 2021, Spain was the second largest exporter for these products in Europe, after Italy. Its exports totaled 57 thousand mt in volume and €568 million.