The Welsh meat sector is looking for a slice of the German food market, which is worth a huge €73.6 billion.
In a country famed for its love of all things sausage, the UK hopes quality meat sourced from Wales will help gain access to this lucrative market.
Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has promoted Welsh lamb at two major German trade shows, as part of a bid to claim a larger share of the country’s massive food service industry and raise awareness of the premium product among consumers.
The taste and versatility of PGI Welsh lamb was demonstrated by chefs at the Lebensmittel Praxis Fleischkongress meat event in Bonn, and at a food industry fair in Berlin organised by the TransGourmet foodservice supplier, in late-February.
The food service market is booming in Germany. In 2015 alone, food service sales grew by 3.5% and reached €73.6 billion.
The country’s meat consumption is comparatively high, at 60kg per head, making the meat and sausage products sector the largest segment in Germany’s food industry.
Partly because of German consumers’ increasing tendency to eat in restaurants, cafes and snack bars, the country is the world’s third largest importer of agricultural and food products.
'Major opportunity'
“The food service sector in Germany is enormous, and represents a major opportunity for Welsh lamb in particular,” said Alex James, HCC’s Export Market Development Executive.
“There’s a demand for a variety of high-quality meat. Welsh lamb, with its sought-after PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status which gives consumers confidence in its traceability back to the farm and the Welsh landscape, is finding its way into more restaurants, and onto the premium listings of many catering suppliers and importers.
“Our presence at these key trade shows in Bonn and Berlin is part of a programme to bring our products to the attention of more consumers, and ensure that Wales claims its fair share of this €73 billion business.”
