First meeting between CONFECARNE and the Foundation of the Ham Serrano with the new general director of the Alimentary Industry

In the meeting presented to the new general director of the Alimentary Industry of the Ministry, accompanied by the general deputy directors Cristina Clemente (Planning and Alimentary Control), Josefa Lueso (Alimentary Promotion) and Clemente Kills (Quality Differentiated), the structure and activities of CONFECARNE, like organisation cúpula and spokesman of the meat sector Spanish.

Between the exposed subjects to the general director stood out the application so that they culminate the works of editorial of a new Norm of quality for the products cárnicos cured and baked, that substitute to the obsolete existent legislation and allow the competitiveness of the meat sector Spanish. This proposal was supported by Fernando Burgaz, that emplazó to the Confederation to a specific meeting on this subject, to reach a consensus and final document in this regard.

The representatives of CONFECARNE expressesed also to the manager of the MAGRAMA the worry of the industry by the situation that crosses the sector of the Iberian pig and the need to review the Norm of Quality, something for what exists a sectorial consensus, although it is necessary to advance in the concretion of the modifications, by his complexity and different sectorial postures.

Treated also the worry of CONFECARNE by the announced development of a law of measures to improve the operation of the alimentary chain, that wants to reinforce the position negotiator of the producers and the possible implantation of agreements of dealers of products. This, in opinion of the organisation, could prejudice to the meat sector if it finds compressesed between the power of the big distribution and the one who can award to the production grazier. In this regard, CONFECARNE asked balance and prudence in the measures that can pose .

In this sense, the manager of the MAGRAMA stood out that the object of the proposal is not another that improve the balance in the commercial relations and avoid abusive practices, without that all this go in damage of anybody, rather in profit of all the links.

Finally, the secretary of the Foundation of the Ham Serrano Spanish posed the strategic interest of the sector in substituting the current ETG of the Ham Serrano by a Geographic Indication Protected that it restrict his manufacturing to the Spanish territory.

The representative of the Ministry signalled that this approach is viable, although no exento of difficulties, and posed the need of the sectorial unit to initiate this process, that to continuation would have to pose directly to the European Commission.

The industrial state cárnico, formed by slaughterhouses, rooms of despiece and industries of elaborated, has a fabric constituted basically by more than 3.000 small and medium enterprises, delivered by all the national geography; in fact, 75% of the industries cárnicas Spaniards has less than 20 busy people, according to the INE. With this dimension, the meat sector occupies with difference the first place of all the Spanish industry of foods and drunk, having a figure of business of 19.000 million euros, more than 20% of all the alimentary sector Spanish.

This figure of business supposes practically 2% of the total GDP Spanish (to prices of market) and 14% of the GDP of the industrial branch. The direct sectorial employment of said companies, some 87.000 workers, represents equally 23% of the total occupation of the Spanish alimentary industry.

A fundamental data is that the meat sector exports by value of almost 3.000 million euros to markets of all the world, with some commercial scales very positive (tax of coverage of 229%), data that very few notable economic sectors can present, what contributes positively to paliar the traditional commercial deficit of the country.