Nordic food company HKScan has agreed to form a joint venture (JV) with Zhejiang Qinglian Food to sell Finnish pork products to Chinese consumers.
HKScan is looking to establish a new presence on the Chinese market by launching products like sirloin and tenderloin, which were otherwise offered mainly in the Nordic region in the past.
The JV will also sell and market products such as Rypsiporsas (Omega-3 Pork) products, which contain high quantities of omega-3 fatty acids. It will sell the Finnish pork products to the Chinese retail sector, the HoReCa sector and industrial customers.
The JV deal signed by HKScan follows the November 2017 approval from Chinese authorities to permit its Forssa plant in Finland to export Finnish pork products to China.
HKScan CEO Jari Latvanen said: “This joint venture opens up a completely new, one-of-a-kind market for Finnish pork. By commercializing and offering products in the premium category, we are taking the world-class expertise of Finnish pork producers to a whole new level of added value.
“This creates new revenue opportunities throughout our entire production chain and builds confidence in the international competitiveness of Finnish food production.”
HKScan revealed that exports of the Finnish pork products to China are slated to begin during the first half of this year.
The Nordic food company expects sales volume of around three million kilograms of pork in China within the first year, with plans to triple the figure by 2020.
HKScan predicts that a minimum of 5% of Finnish-grown pigs would be consumed in China through its export chain.
Qinglian Food is a pork producer which manages the entire value chain from main production to meat processing, sales and marketing.
Latvanen added: “Qinglian Food has an impressive track record of successfully developing new brands and concepts, which was a key condition for our collaboration. In addition, Qinglian Food’s in-depth knowledge of the Chinese market offers significant potential for the future advancement of HKScan’s exports.”
