Cecilia Ruiz, Madrid Office Manager, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

Bord Bia and the Irish meat companies represented in Spain attended the Spanish Meat Sector Congress run by AECOC recently which is the 16th consecutive year of attendance and enables us to witness first-hand the changes taking place in the industry.

The beef sector in Spain continues to evolve, adapting to the new market conditions: main focus is on local produce, health and safety messages; segmentation and premium niches to highlight the domestic product vs imports.

The slogan of the congress was “Building a Future with Attributes that develop Confidence: quality, authenticity, innovation and sustainability." Jim O´Toole, Bord Bia’s Meat and Sustainability Manager, presented Origin Green to more than 300 professionals of the Spanish Meat Sector, attracting admiration and interest.

Following several years of decreasing domestic beef consumption (-24% since 2008, leaving per capita home consumption below 6kg), the sector is concentrating on competing with imported product and in growing exports.

In 2015: • Spanish beef production increased by 10% (55,200tn). • Beef consumption fell by -4% (-9,308tn) • Beef imports decreased by -6% (5,000tn) while exports increased by 19% (19,400tn).

Spain’s main destinations for beef exports remain Portugal (40%), Italy (20%), France (13%), Holland (10.5%) and Algeria (4.6%) while the main suppliers to the market are Poland (19%), Holland (17%), Germany (13%) and Ireland (11%). The average price for beef exports was €3kg vs an imported beef average price of €6kg.

Ireland remains Spain´s fourth biggest supplier for both beef and livestock. In March this year, Irish QA beef tastings are taking place in two of the main Spanish retail chains during St. Patrick´s Week.

For more information please contact Cecilia.ruiz@bordbia.ie