Spanish ham industry hit hard by Covid-19

The Spanish dried-cured ham, Jamón, is usually served at weddings, family gatherings, and other important social events in Spain. However, as social gatherings are completely banned in Spain due to the strict Covid-19 social distancing measures, the Jamón industry was hit hard, showing a decline in sales by nearly 30%. The total export volume also dropped by 4.69% compared to the same period of the previous year as the demand from EU countries and China drastically decreased since 2020 Q1. As the economic situation in Spain is projected to recover by 2021, the Spanish dried-cured ham consumption is expected to increase if the social gatherings and events become active again.

Spanish ham industry after the pandemic

Since the first reported Covid-19 case in March, the number of cases has increased up to 8,000 by the end of March during the first wave. The Spanish government officially declared the national lockdown in April, which banned any kinds of social gatherings and events of up to 6 people. However, Spain was hit even harder by the unprecedented second wave that arrived in July. The confirmed cases reached 80,000, the highest figure throughout Europe, and the 7-day average number was more than 40,000. As a result, the government extended the state of emergency to May 2021, and it was projected that the overall economy in Spain would remain depressed until the vaccine comes out.

As social gatherings are banned and people are more focused on panic-buying the daily necessities than gourmet products, Spanish ham consumption has decreased sharply from the first quarter of 2020. Nearly 90 percent of the social events such as weddings, funerals, and any other kinds of local festivals were canceled, which are the prime Spanish ham’s primary target market. According to the Association of Meat Industry (AICE, in terms of Spanish), the total domestic revenue in 2020 declined by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2019. When the second wave hit Spain in October, the sales revenue decreased further by 40-50 percent. The export volume has also reduced drastically. As Covid-19 devastated the main importing countries, France, Germany, Portugal, and China, the global demand for Spanish gourmet food has decreased significantly, by 4.69 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of small orders via online shops and delivery apps has increased since the pandemic swept the ham industry. Traditionally, Spaniards buy the whole leg for social events to share the portion with a number of people. As Jamon producers started supplying services through the delivery app, the order revenue increased by 515% throughout last year. However, since social gatherings are still prohibited, smaller portions were preferred, primarily via an e-commerce platform.