This represents an opportunity for increasing sales to one of the group’s most important markets, said Asger Krogsgaard, a member of the board of directors of Danish Crown and chairman of the board of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council.
Working with HRH Prince Henrik and the Danish Minister for Food, Henrik Høegh, among others, he has spearheaded a Danish export drive, which is just now ending in Shanghai.
“It is an important agreement and a key step towards strengthening our trading relations with China. With the new agreement, we can look forward to selling processed products alongside our very considerable exports of by-products,” Krogsgaard said.
Danish Crown currently sells mainly pork by-products, such as ears, toes and intestines, to China. Volumes have been increasing, and China has in recent years become Danish Crown’s fourth-largest market, measured in terms of weight. At the same time, a new class of wealthy consumers is emerging in China and creating a demand for food of a quality found in the West.
“Thanks to our high food-safety standards, we have already been present in the market for a number of years, and this will be our springboard for future sales of high-quality products. The consumers are there, and they are calling for quality Western-style foods combined with high food safety,” Krogsgaard concluded.
