Economic Agreement Opens Up New Opportunities for Spanish Pork in Japan

Duties on pork and processed pork will be reduced sharply or eliminated over time, enhancing Spanish producers’ competitiveness

Great news for Spanish pork producers! The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement officially entered into force on February 1st, and one of the results is that Japanese duties on pork and pork products from the European Union will gradually be reduced or even eliminated.

To date, processed pork products were subject to a duty of up to 8.5% of the value of the product, while the duty on pork was 4.3%. The elimination or sharp reduction of these duties opens up a world of possibilities and increases Spanish producers’ competitiveness. In the end, trade in processed pork meat will be duty free, and fresh pork meat exports will be almost duty free.

Japan is a very interesting market for Spain as it is the second-largest importer of pork in the world, and Spain is the fourth-largest supplier, with around 100,000 tons. In the last five years alone, it increased its exports fivefold. This was made possible by Japanese consumers’ ability to appreciate the exceptional quality of pork and pork products from Spain.

Japan is the third largest economy in the world in terms of GDP value, and it has a well-established distribution network and a population with high purchasing power.

The agreement also recognizes 205 food products with geographical indications.