Sardinian PGI lamb conquers the Japanese market
The Contas consortium in Tokyo for the Foodex fair: «The country does not produce meat, a great opportunity for export»
In Japan to build a commercial bridge in the name of centenarians. The food of the Sardinians meets the land which hosts one of the five blue zones recognized in the world.
At the center of the exchange was PGI Sardinian lamb, among the protagonists of the 49th edition of Foodex, the fair held in Tokyo from today until 8 March. The participation of the Protection Consortium is part of the promotional actions that Contas has been carrying out for several years and for this reason the Ministry of Agriculture has awarded it the Ambassadors of Italian food in the world award. The stop in Tokyo opens the doors to a market full of opportunities for meat.
«It is the third largest in the world, after the United States and China, with an estimated value of 33 billion euros in 2023», explains Alessandro Mazzette, director of Contas, «up 3.5% compared to the previous year» .
«Japanese consumers», he specifies, «eat almost 20% more meat per capita compared to 20 years ago, especially pork and poultry, which make up 81% of the market, but beef and lamb, which represent 19% of the market."
Japan imports around 22 thousand tonnes of sheep and lamb meat per year for a value of around 233 million euros in 2022. And since the value of imports increased by 7.1% from 2019 to 2022 it is easy to believe that it could still grow in the immediate future.
«Also because», underlines Mazzette, «it is a country that does not produce lamb but imports over 90% of it from Australia or New Zealand, countries that have reduced their exports in favor of China, a growing market this also. This therefore opened the door to other imports from Europe."
The president of Contas, Battista Cualbu, says he is convinced «that the Japanese market is the ideal one for our meats as the production specifications for Sardinian lamb are well suited to this market and like Contas we believe that Japanese consumers can be reached not only at agri-food fairs but also through a promotional campaign that highlights our sustainable farming and the health benefits deriving from meat obtained from lambs fed only with breast milk produced by grazing sheep."
(Unioneonline)
