A deep aroma permeates the atmosphere of a glass-enclosed room, in which a dozen people dressed in aprons meticulously cut the legs of ham that preside over their tables.
It is a Wednesday morning in the financial center of Beijing, the capital of China, but those attending the event are not there to taste this Spanish gourmet product, but to learn the art of professional cutting.
Iberian ham, although it continues to be practically a luxury item in the Asian giant, has gained great recognition in recent years among the classes with greater purchasing power in large cities.
The data demonstrate this trend: China is currently the second importing country of Iberian ham outside of Europe, only behind the United States,
It was precisely in that year that Du Yi, a partner of the import and export company Macro, began his journey in the sector.
"Back then, the presence of Iberian ham in China was minimal," says Du.
Although Iberian products landed in the Asian nation for the first time in 2008, only boneless and sliced ham was allowed to be sold and there were hardly any supermarkets or restaurants that offered it.
“When we went to import fairs, the Chinese assistants would ask us what
that
[ham slices] was, if it was
raw
lamb or beef, and they didn't dare eat it,” recalls this businessman.
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Interest in Spanish hams grew partly thanks to the increase in Chinese tourists to our country, where they had the opportunity to try the wide variety of Iberian products.
"Many of my clients come to remember the sensations they felt when visiting Spain," says Linda, owner of several Spanish restaurants in the Chinese capital, where ham, she points out, is a star dish.
Linda is one of the attendees of the cutting course offered by Macro in collaboration with the International School of Ham Cutters, an organization based in Jaén.
But the real turning point came in 2018, when, as part of the visit to Spain by Chinese President Xi Jinping, both governments expanded the catalog of cured products exportable to China, including bone-in ham and shoulder .
“Exposing a whole ham makes the difference.
Now the stands are always full of onlookers who ask to try it and in events where a cutter is hired, it becomes the center of attention;
people take photos and videos of him that they share on social networks,” emphasizes Du.
The growth of exports has been explosive since 2018″, confirms Jesús Pérez Aguilar, head of Communication at ASICI.
In fact, sales to China have increased exponentially every calendar year, even during the pandemic.
In 2022, the value of exports of cured hams and shoulders was 29.2 million euros, a year-on-year increase of 30.8%, according to ASICI data.
Ham cutter apprentices in Beijing.
Image courtesy of Macro.
"We believe that China is the market par excellence, we have high hopes for it," says Pérez Aguilar.
The Interprofessional has launched the ambitious internationalization campaign "Iberian Hams from Spain, ambassadors of Europe in the world", which has the support of the European Union and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and with which it has launched an important battery of actions to train, educate and inform about this unique food in the world.
"I was pleasantly surprised to see that Iberian ham is quite integrated in many of the restaurants of a certain renown and that the distributors and importers have a great knowledge of our product and the quality standard", he comments after having visited Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou , Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Du agrees with him: “Iberian ham has a lot of potential in China, it continues to be a luxury product, but it already appears more frequently and in more middle- and upper-class events, especially in wealthy cities in the south.
They come to pay 1,300 euros for a piece.
It is bought for birthdays or weekend get-togethers, and more and more people consume sliced food”.
This entrepreneur firmly believes that "the market is very large and Spanish products are excellent", but believes that "we still need to promote them more and better".
That is why he emphasizes the need to train more professionals throughout the Chinese territory.
“The figure of the cutter is key, because he must not only know how to cut;
he is the one who transmits the knowledge, ”Du emphasizes.
Precisely for this reason, Wang Yu, the sales manager of a Beijing supermarket chain specializing in imported products, attends the cutting course.
One of the establishments, located in one of the most exclusive areas of the capital's Shunyi district, plans to offer live cutting of Iberian ham every weekend, so that customers can try it when it is fresh and, in addition, receive recommendations for pairing .
"Many Chinese believe that they don't like ham because they haven't tasted it properly, so it's important for me to know the theory and be able to advise them," adds Wang.
Qiu, another of the students, was not a ham consumer.
He signed up for the course for pure pleasure, because he had “time and money” and he thought it was a good way to “de-stress”.
Now, he considers that ham is "healthy" and "very easy to eat while enjoying a wine or a beer", so he hopes to organize tastings with his friends and that they also become fans.