Alimentaria’s leading exhibition for business and internationalization of the Spanish meat industry, Intercarn, will bring together 360 companies in the sector, 10% more than in 2022, and will occupy around 14,000 m2. Among the exhibitors will be large companies such as Grupo Vall Companys, Grupo Jorge, El Pozo, Grupo Coren, Costa Brava Mediterranean Food, Noel Alimentaria, Jamones Aljomar, Costa Food Group, Grupo Norteños, BonÀrea or Companyia General Càrnia.
Nearly 150 small and medium-sized companies from all over the country will also participate – most of the meat production fabric is made up of SMEs – grouped in institutional participations from autonomous communities and provinces such as Castilla y León, Catalunya, Huelva or Galicia and quality seals such as Jabugo, Jamón de Teruel, Sobrasada from Mallorca, Pedroches or Torrezno from Soria and sectoral associations.
In total, Intercarn exhibitors will represent more than 70% of the sector’s turnover in Spain. To this great Spanish representation, 90 international companies will be added, 25% of the total, with notable participation from Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy.
Spain, export power
With the support of its export leadership, this industry will seek new opportunities for internationalization in Alimentaria, which plans to attract 100,000 visitors, 25% of them of international origin. In this sense, and to maximize business opportunities, it has a powerful hosted buyers program, thanks to which it will bring together more than 2,200 importers, distributors and purchasing managers of the highest level. Of these, more than half are international from strategic countries for the Spanish meat sector such as China, Japan, France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, South Korea and Mexico.
The high quality of the supply and demand present in the event, with large importers and distributors from strategic markets, is the key to Intercarn’s success, according to its president and general director of Noel Alimentaria, Anna Bosch: “Spain is a leader in production of meat, in quality, food safety and exports and has the best showcase in this room. It is the number one fair for business and the internationalization of the Spanish meat industry.”
The food sector and the meat subsectors are, along with the automotive and chemical industries, drivers of the Spanish economy. Meat is the fourth largest industrial sector in Spain and its turnover (more than €33,218 million in 2022) represents more than 23% of the entire Spanish food sector, according to data from the Spanish Government. It also leads the sector’s exports and is the largest employer in the food industry, with more than 118,000 direct jobs (24.7% of the total).
Spain is one of the main meat exporting countries in the world and has China as its first market in volume (more than 560,000 Tn) and the EU as its first in value (€7,000 M, 64% of the total). Regarding the foreign activity of the various subsectors that make up the Spanish meat industry, pork is the leader in exports and China is its first market, followed by Japan, France and Korea. It is followed by beef, which in 2022 has grown by 15% in export volume and which also has its sights set on China. The poultry subsector, the one with the highest domestic consumption, has France and Portugal as its main destinations and the sheep-goat subsector has France, Portugal, and the Arab countries.
The challenges of a key industry for the economy
The food sector and the meat subsectors are, along with the automotive and chemical industries, drivers of the Spanish economy. Meat is the fourth largest industrial sector in Spain and its turnover (more than €33,218 million in 2022) represents more than 23% of the entire Spanish food sector, according to data from the Spanish Government. It also leads the sector’s exports and is the largest employer in the food industry, with more than 118,000 direct jobs (24.7% of the total).
Furthermore, according to Nielsen data, meat products have closed 2023 with an increase in demand in Spain of +2.7% in volume and annual meat consumption per inhabitant has also grown slightly, exceeding 32.4kg per capita. Sales of prepared meat dishes have grown by 7%.
All this power of the Spanish meat industry will be confirmed at Intercarn, an event in which some of the main challenges facing the sector will also be analyzed, such as new trends in meat consumption, the sustainability of its production and its role in development. of the rural economy and territorial balance.
Meat products have closed 2023 with an increase in demand in Spain of +2.7% in volume and annual meat consumption per inhabitant has also grown slightly, exceeding 32.4kg per capita. Sales of prepared meat dishes have grown by 7%
Along these lines, the IRTA (Institute of Agri-Food Research and Technology) will organize a debate in the hall with producers and distributors that, under the title ‘Red to green meat’, will focus on how to produce quality, competitive and more sustainable meat in the future. In addition, Intercarn and AECOC (Association of Manufacturers and Distributors) will present a joint study on the new purchasing and consumption habits of meat products internationally and how to adapt to them successfully.
Likewise, the different associations and organizations of the livestock-meat sector such as Interporc, Fecic, Anafric, Intercun, Provacuno, among others, will organize different events and conferences as well as the reception of international visits.
Alimentaria & Hostelco 2024, organized by Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company, plans to have the participation of around 3,200 exhibiting companies, which will occupy 100,000 m2 net and 7 pavilions, practically the entire Gran Vía venue of Fira de Barcelona. It also expects to receive more than 100,000 professional visitors, reaffirming its leadership as the main platform for promoting business, internationalization and networking.
