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HKScan has newly launched pork exports to China from its Forssa production unit. The first container was shipped off on Monday, 23 April, 2018. The 25 000 kg shipment will travel by sea to Tianjin Port.
“The Chinese pork market is the world’s largest. Rather than focusing on bulk volume, however, our key strengths in China are great flavour and the world-class expertise of Finnish family farms. Pork quality requirements in China are among the world’s strictest,” states Jukka Nikkinen, head of HKScan exports. “The Chinese utilize all parts of the carcass in their cuisine. Our customers are interested in carcass parts that might seem exotic from a European perspective, such as meaty bones and feet, which are highly valued and important raw ingredients in Chinese cuisine. These cuts are also included in the first shipment.”
Finland’s responsible agricultural practices are strategically aligned with HKScan’s commercial targets. Finland’s world-class standards of animal health and welfare provide Finnish agricultural products with a unique competitive advantage. This gives HKScan the chance to establish a presence not only in categories of products traditionally sold to China, but also with premium-grade value-added products generally marketed only in the Nordic region, such as sirloin and tenderloin cuts. HKScan’s Omega-3 pork is the company’s flagship innovation in the premium category.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the long-awaited launch of Chinese exports from our Forssa unit. This milestone will open up new earnings opportunities for our entire value chain and strengthen confidence in the international competitiveness of the Finnish food industry. Our chief competitive assets are our high levels of professional expertise throughout our entire Farm to Fork chain, all the way from our contract farms to our production units,” says Jari Latvanen, CEO of HKScan.
Within the first year of the launch, HKScan aims to ship roughly three million kilograms of pork to China and to subsequently triple that volume by 2020. Relative to the volume of pork currently produced annually in Finland, this would mean that at least five per cent of all Finnish-reared pigs would end up on Chinese dining tables through HKScan.
Finland’s politicians and authorities have done an excellent job at supporting Finnish food exports. On behalf of HKScan, I would like to extend a warm word of thanks to the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Food Safety Authority and to all other authorities in Finland and China, without forgetting the excellent input of our partners in China and own personnel. Our Chinese partners have helped us gain valuable insights into the minds and hearts of Chinese consumers and customers,” says CEO Latvanen.
April 23, 2018 - HKScan
