Promoting Pork and Poultry in China and Mexico

Jack Hogan, Market Specialist, EU Programmes Asia, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board

Bord Bia has received funding from the European Commission to implement a €3.8 million campaign promoting pork and poultry in China and Mexico over the next three years (2020 – 2023). The campaign, titled EU Pork and Poultry: Excellence in Quality Assurance & Food Safety, aims to build awareness of our quality assurance and food safety credentials in key export markets. While also helping to progress and expand on market access for pork and poultry by engaging with key government officials. COVID-19 is undoubtedly having a negative impact on global trade and the full extent of this global pandemic still remains to be seen. This campaign will aid in supporting trade between Ireland and its partners in China and Mexico in this challenging time. The key audiences being targeted in China and Mexico include trade (importers/distributors, foodservice and retail), media/key opinion leaders (KOLs), trade associations and key government officials.

Given the market opportunities and commercial priority for European and Irish exporters, approximately €3 million or 80% of the campaign funds will be focused on the Chinese market. A wide range of activities will be funded under this campaign, such as inward study visits to Ireland which involves bringing key trade buyers, media/KOLs and government officials to Ireland to learn about and experience first-hand leading EU food safety and production standards. Over the course of the three year campaign, 120 professionals will be brought to Ireland. Trade seminars will take place in 7 different cities, and attract nearly 700 trade professionals over the course of the campaign. These seminars will showcase European and Irish pork and poultry to importers, wholesalers, chefs and media representatives/KOLs, providing them with the opportunity to learn more about Ireland, connect with Irish exporters and taste the quality of the product itself. The target cities in this campaign will go beyond just Beijing and Shanghai, activities will take place in cities such as Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, cities which have been identified as holding significant opportunities for Irish exporters. This campaign will also see Bord Bia exhibit at 10 trade shows over the next 3 years, with the combined total number of visitors to these trade shows reaching in excess of 2.1 million trade professionals.

KOLs have a large and growing importance in modern marketing, particularly in China, this campaign will utilise KOLs to spread the message of quality European pork and poultry from Ireland, with Bord Bia partnering with KOLs on a number of offline to online events and postings over the course of the campaign.  In an increasingly digital and mobile internet dominated world, social media is the most effective method of reaching both trade customers and consumers at a large scale. This campaign will involve a series of social media promotions, altered and targeted for each market as necessary, a dedicated WeChat account will be established to bring informative and engaging content to target audiences around China. To supplement our social media content, a dedicated website will be created to act as a hub of information on the campaign, it will be a destination for recipes which infuse European pork and poultry from Ireland with Chinese cuisine.

Market statistics

China became the worlds’ largest pork importer in 2018,^[1] overtaking Japan, it accounted for over 30% of world pork imports that year and is forecast to remain in top spot for the foreseeable future as the long term effects of African Swine Fever (ASF) are felt. China remains Ireland’s second largest export market for pig meat, with our exports reaching a record figures in 2019.

The value of Irish pig meat exports to China soared to a value of €176 million in 2019, which is a 123% increase in value from the previous year. In volume terms over the same period, figures reached 89,640 tonnes, which is a 44% increase from 2018, this demonstrates the significant increase in import price when compared to the 123% value increase.² With Chinese consumers, especially in the major cities, placing more emphasis on attributes underpinning EU production such as food safety, quality and environmental sustainability there is a continuing opportunity for Irish pig meat to build on recent successes and grow market share.

Ireland does not yet have access for poultry to the mainland Chinese market, however Irish poultry exports to Hong Kong SAR increased 42% in 2019, reaching a value of €1.3 million.² Faced with a global pork shortage, poultry is proving to a flexible and affordable option for consumers around the world. In light of the increasing demand for poultry meat in China, the Chinese government has approved many additional poultry plants in Brazil and the United States. European countries, such as Ireland, are actively seeking poultry market access to mainland China and Irish poultry producers are prepared to seize this opportunity as soon as this approval is received.