A winning formula based on story, flavour and Farm-to-Fork value chain

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.

Background factsheet:

  • HKScan’s products will be targeted at the Chinese retail sector, industrial customers and the HoReCa sector. The targeted export volume for the first year is 3 000 tonnes of pork meat, with plans to triple that volume by 2020.
  • HKScan currently exports meat to nearly 50 countries. This includes pork exported to numerous EU countries as well as to New Zealand and Japan.
  • The Chinese food authorities granted an export permit to HKScan’s Forssa plant, which is ISO 9001, 14001 and FSSC 22 000 certified. The unit already had export licenses for other markets including the USA and Russia.
  • HKScan sources its Finnish meat raw material directly from its 3 400 pig, beef and poultry contract farmers.
  • Rypsiporsas® (Omega-3 pork) is a globally unique innovation developed on the basis of years of meticulous research. In Finland the product is known as Rypsiporsas® and in Sweden as Rapsgris®. Omega-3 pork pigs are fed on domestic grain and rapeseed grown exclusively on local farms in Finland and Sweden. All protein sources in the animal feed – rapeseed, peas and broad beans – are also 100% domestically grown. No soy meal is required as an additional protein source. The piglets’ diet is carefully monitored, as is the composition of their feed, their consumption, and their growth rates. In Finland, all Omega-3 pork® meat is sourced exclusively from carefully selected Finnish farms. Omega-3 pork® is softer-textured and healthier in fat composition, as unsaturated fatty acids predominate over saturated fats, which also makes the meat tastier and tenderer than regular pork.

 

Earlier releases:

7.11.2017 HKScan about to launch pork exports to China - competitive edge from world-class work done on Finnish family farms
http://www.hkscan.com/portal/english/hkscan/news_releases/?id=2275

27.2.2018 HKScan to launch joint venture in China – Finnish Rypsiporsas® (Omega-3 Pork) differentiates from the competition with superior quality and responsible production
http://www.hkscan.com/portal/english/hkscan/news_releases/?id=2329

 

For further information:

HKScan Media Service Desk tel. 010 570 5700 or email communications@hkscan.com


HKScan is the leading Nordic food company. We sell, market and produce high-quality, responsibly-produced pork, beef, poultry and lamb products, processed meats and convenience foods under strong brand names. Our customers are the retail, food service, industrial and export sectors, and our home markets comprise Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltics. We export to close to 50 countries. In 2017, HKScan had net sales of EUR 1.8 billion and some 7 300 employees.