Cured meats are weathering the crisis: exports up by 5.3 per cent and domestic consumption holding steady

Growth in 2025 was driven primarily by the European Union markets, which absorbed 163,810 tonnes of Italian cured meats worth 1.695 billion euros, representing increases of 6.4 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively compared with 2024. Growth was more modest, however, in third countries, where exports reached 67,835 tonnes, worth approximately 811 million euros, up by 2.9 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

Among the main European markets, Spain recorded an excellent performance, with 11,304 tonnes (+30.7%) worth 71.8 million euros (+18.1%), and the United Kingdom, up 7.6% in volume and 6.6% in value, with shipments totalling 18,919 tonnes and 240.6 million euros. France and Germany remained the top two destination markets in absolute terms, with a combined value of around 867 million euros; together, they account for over 50 per cent of Italian cured meat exports. Outside Europe, results in Canada remain positive (with significant progress following the entry into force of the CETA agreement), whilst the United States – the leading non-EU market for Italian cured meats – recorded a decline in both volume (-3.8%) and value (-5.8%), reflecting the uncertainty in the international trade environment and difficulties relating to market access.

During next week’s event, Assica will, amongst other things, be celebrating its 80th anniversary.

“We started out with a small group of family-run businesses,” recalls Assica’s president, Lorenzo Beretta, “and today we have 180 members. Our organisation has supported the sector’s development and, in particular, its expansion onto the international stage. In the early days, the market was purely domestic; at most, we would ship a few products to Switzerland. We are now present in more than a hundred countries, often with products – such as prosciutto crudo – that international consumers were previously unfamiliar with, but which are now very much part of their everyday lives. We will continue along this path – that of opening up markets – thanks in part to international agreements.”

Traditional Italian products that are not yet well known abroad will also play a part. “I’m thinking in particular of pancetta and guanciale,” continues Beretta, “which are becoming increasingly popular on the markets thanks to the spread of Italian recipes such as pasta alla carbonara or all’Amatriciana. And I’m thinking of bresaola, a product with excellent health benefits and therefore perfect for the international consumer. Bresaola is just waiting for exports to the United States to be authorised before it really takes off abroad. We’re pinning our hopes on this.”

However, there are still some areas of concern. Vigilance remains high with regard to African swine fever (ASF). At present, the only active cluster is in the north-west, where several outbreaks have been detected in the Cuneo area, very close to a number of pig farms.

“Enhanced surveillance operations are already underway,” explains Assica director Davide Calderone, “using ‘dog-and-handler teams’. This strategy involves first deploying sniffer dogs trained to locate the carcasses of wild boars, which act as carriers of the virus. Specialised staff then step in to remove them and decontaminate the area.”

Another critical area is the Apennines. A ‘barrier’ is soon to be erected near the A1 motorway and Barberino del Mugello to contain the infection and begin the clean-up of the affected areas.

“The idea,” added Calderone, “is to draw a ‘Gothic line’ to prevent the infection from spreading southwards. Similarly, another area receiving the utmost attention is the region between the provinces of Parma and Piacenza. This is an area,” added the director of Assica, “with a high concentration of processing plants that are already suffering losses due to export restrictions from the areas subject to restrictions. Surveillance and the search for carcasses have also been launched in that area, with a view to carrying out rapid decontamination’.

This is the current situation in the fight against African swine fever. A scenario to which a new flashpoint has been added in the last few days. ‘This is the initiative from Brussels,’ continues Calderone, ‘which has set its sights on beef imports from Brazil. The EU investigation concerns the use by Brazilian farmers of antibiotics banned in Europe. This initiative is separate from the EU-Mercosur agreement. A possible ban on beef imports from Brazil could create more than one problem for the Italian bresaola supply chain, which relies heavily on Brazilian beef as a raw material. It would also be a major blow to the Bresaola della Valtellina sector, which, following the decline in beef production in Europe in recent years, has already been grappling with very high raw material prices for some time now.’

According to figures released this week by the IGP Protection Consortium, production in 2025 fell by 5.5 per cent compared with 2024, whilst the retail value rose by 4.6 per cent to 502 million euros and exports by 32 per cent.

“The GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) licences, which allow meat to be imported at a reduced tariff rate of 20 per cent,” explains the Consortium, “remain in place, but in recent years they have no longer been used solely for the import of prime cuts (such as the fesa cut used in the production of bresaola, ed.) but also for numerous other processed products. Consequently, the use of non-GATT imports has become a structural feature and is almost inevitable for bresaola producers.”