THE ROAD TO ALIMENTARIA

The show will include Intercarn - an area dedicated to meat and allied products - which will cover 822m2 of the 122,000m2 of exhibition and activity space available. There will also be more countries and more foreign companies exhibiting than ever before, say the organisers.

UK generic meat bodies, the English Beef and Lamb Executive and the British Pig Executive will share a stand in the Intercarn area at Alimentaria. HCC/Meat Promotion Wales will also be present at the show promoting Welsh lamb to the Spanish market.

What the Spanish market is looking for

There is a strong fresh meat offering in Spain. Supermarkets chains, with the exception of Carrefour, tend to be regional. Butchers represent nearly half of beef retailing.

English bull beef characteristics sought after by Spanish consumers include white fat, bright colour and marbling. Consumers like it. They prefer young calves. Older cattle are not sold through retail outlets. Instead they are sold to the foodservice sector.

MLC research shows that England is closely associated with beef and is second only after Spain for reputation, particularly with the upper segments of the population.

Around 32 per cent of Spanish consumers consider English beef as naturally produced and 31 per cent think it is consistent in quality. Only 30 per cent believe it has a poor appearance. According to the research there were little or no differences between the appreciation of English, Scottish and Irish beef.

Beef consumption in Spain is lower than the EU average but is increasing, says Jean Pierre Garnier, MLC export manager.

When it comes to the Spanish market there are major regional variations in the quantity and quality of beef consumed. Cowmeat (from cow carcases classified P4) are eaten in the Northwest while hindquarters of bull beef (0-3-4) are eaten in Madrid. In Barcelona consumers eat 0+2-3. "Growing disposable income means that there will be a demand for a greater variation of cuts and offal," said Mr Garnier.

BPEX at Alimentaria

The British Pig Executive will be pushing pigmeat and products made with British pork. The Spanish market is a difficult one as far as exporting British pigmeat is concerned as the Spaniards are the second largest producer of pigmeat in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. However, a vibrant expatriate community does provide an opportunity for increasing exports.

"We are supplying bacon and sausages to retailers in the Costa area and recently did a promotion for sausages with Carrefour," said Peter Hardwick, International Manager for the MLC.

What the Portugese want

The Portugese beef market is definitely worth pursuing. Portugal has a population of 10 million and imports 40 per cent or 80,000 tonnes of its beef requirements. "There is a good demand for English product if it is competitively priced," said Mr Garnier.

The Portugese are looking for lean bull beef carcases. They also require high-quality bull beef from dairy herds for its foodservice sector. Margins for selling English beef to Portugal and Spain are higher than supplying it to the UK market. Reference R3 young bull prices for the week ending November 19 were €3.45/kg in Portugal, €3.07/kg in Spain and €2.61/kg in the UK.

HCC/Eblex at Alimentaria

HCC/Meat Promotion Wales and Eblex will be promoting Welsh and English lamb. HCC will focus principally on supply contracts for light lambs with carcase weights of 11-12 kilos and aged four-to six months. There are opportunities for Welsh lamb in the Spanish and Portuguese markets because of the seasonality element. Currently Wales imports 2,300 tonnes to these two markets. The two bodies are looking to increase that volume and add value by selling

Back after a 10-year absence

After a 10 year absence, EBLEX will be back at Alimentaria. The potential for beef exports is good. Spain has a population of 40 million people and imports around 100,000 tonnes of beef a year. There is huge potential for bull calves aged between 10 and 20 months which Spain currently imports (475,000 tonnes) mainly from France and Poland. The UK's main competitor when its comes to cowmeat is Holland. "The UK will find as far as bull carcases are concerned the main competitor is the local product and Germany in the boneless bull product," he said.

Mr Garnier also believes that the Spanish market will be the most receptive market in the EU to importing British beef. "When exports reopen the Spanish will be first to import our beef. We have very good vibes in the past few months from importers we have spoken to." The UK is hoping to gain four per cent of Spain's 100,000 tonne beef import market.

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