China is one of the markets in which Andalusia’s food industry has expanded the most in recent years. In 2020, according to Extenda data, the region exported agri-food products worth 328 million in 2020, double what it sold in 2018, and this trend continues in 2021.
In the first four months of this year, China is, after Italy, the second market to which Andalusia’s agri-food exports have grown the most out of the first fifteen, up 20.4% to 114 million, its all-time record figure for this period.
In addition to the usual olive oils, dairy products, and fish, “there is a strong demand for meat, due to the reduction in the number of pigs in the country, which has established a temporary scenario that Andalusian producers must take advantage of to position themselves in what is still the largest consumer market for pork in the world. The door is now also open to the entry of other products adapted to current lifestyles, such as snacks and ready meals.
Extenda points to China as a key market in the international strategy of Andalusian agri-food companies, towards which various promotional activities have been programmed throughout the year, both in-person and online. In fact, an online trade mission has recently been launched, co-financed with ERDF funds from the European Union to China, in which 11 Andalusian firms from a variety of sectors, such as olive oil, meat, and dairy products, snacks, and jams, have taken part, in response to the heterogeneous demand from the Asian giant.
The Asian destination is the second non-European market for the Andalusian agri-food sector, only preceded by the United States, and ninth in the world, to which sales increased by 20.4% in the first four months of the year to 114 million, which is the second-highest increase of the top fifteen markets, after Italy (26.1% more to 451 million) and an all-time record for sales to the country.
Andalusian industry exports a variety of agri-food products to China, led by frozen meat and offal, which recorded sales of 75 million in the first four months of the year, 66% of the total, representing an increase of 38% year-on-year. This was followed by olive oil, with 23.9 million, 20.9% of the total and an increase of 16%; and processed meat products, with 3.8 million, 3.3% and an increase of 60%.
Among the most exported products in this period are also miscellaneous food preparations, with a turnover of 3.6 million, 3.2% of the total; other products of animal origin, with 1.9 million (1.7%) and an increase of 66%; and ham and shoulder ham, with 1.4 million (1.2%) and an increase of 61%.
