With 37,600 tons produced, in 2021 Mortadella Bologna PGI confirmed the 2020 production volumes, with a +0.9% increase in sales. The growth is most pronounced in the pre-sliced segment, which grew +2.8% (source: IFCQ data on Srl certifications).
These figures are even more significant when compared to 2019: +1.7% in value and +4.9% in pre-sliced. Growth is stable and continuous, and it has recovered the pre-Covid levels.
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“Mortadella Bologna PGI is confirmed as an ‘anti-crisis cured meat,’ strongly satisfying and with strong emotional connotations, irreplaceable and inimitable,” says Guido Veroni, president of the Consortium for the protection of Mortadella Bologna PGI. “This trend is also amply confirmed by the data for the first four months of 2022: more than 12,000 tons produced (+2.5 percent compared to 2021) and 10,500 tons sold (+4.3 percent). This gives us hope for 2022 to be marked by the consolidation of consumption of the ‘pink queen of cured meat’.”
EXPORT SALES
Exports absorb 18 percent of total sales, with EU countries taking the lion’s share. France and Germany are the main target markets, with shares of 30 percent and 24 percent respectively. In 2021, sales increased in Belgium (+17.2 percent), and Spain (+5.8 percent).
Overall, however, on the export front, there was a 2 percent drop in sales, largely attributable to the decline in the UK (-8.6 percent) in the year Brexit came into effect.
In non-EU markets, on the other hand, there was a +2.5 percent increase in exports with a surprising result in Canada (+241.4 percent), followed by Hong Kong (+142.3 percent), and Chile (+44.3 percent).
ENJOY THE AUTHENTIC JOY
The communication of production and sales data is an initiative of “Enjoy the authentic Joy,” a promotional and information project co-funded by the European Union and aimed at the Italian and Belgian markets, that puts together three food Consortia for the protection of PDO and PGI cured meats. The campaign involves the promotion of the following Italian gastronomic deli meats: Mortadella Bologna PGI, Salamini Italiani alla Cacciatora PDO, Zampone Modena PGI, and Cotechino Modena PGI.