Easter may also be a time of fasting on the ham market

Elevated animal feed prices and the drop in the pig stock may put manufacturers in a difficult position and increase the consumer prices of meat products. This season yet another sales drop may follow the decline experienced in last year’s ham season.

Zoltán Szántó, product manager with Pick Szeged Zrt. informed Trade magazin that in 2013 Easter Sunday will be on 31 March – the end of the month when many families hardly have any money to spend. Another problem is that this date is earlier than usual and the sales period will be limited to a couple of weeks only. Krisztina Bódi, Kométa ’99 Zrt.’s marketing director spoke to us about the lack of base material and the black market, both of which make the life of honest meat companies much harder. Her view is that if consumers were aware of the excellent quality of Hungarian products, the situation would be better as they would more easily accept the prices indicated on the shelves and wouldn’t choose cheap import products, which are often of low quality. In the 2013 Easter season Pick Szeged focuses on its Békebeli product line: PICK Békebeli spare rib, tied ham and Frikandó ham. Products are available in vacuum foil packaging in 0.8-1.1kg version and have a 45-day shelf life. Base material-wise PICK Szeged is in a favourable position as the Bonafarm group keeps developing its pig breeding branch, and the number of pigs bred keeps increasing by the year. Kométa pays highlighted attention to giving their buyers an excellent price/value ratio. Recently new products have been added to Kométa’s quality product range: Buonissimo, Benvenuto and Gustavo hams can now all be found in the shops. These products are unique on the market because they are made without added phosphate and are gluten-, lactose- and milk protein-free. Their meat content is very high and they are low in fat and salt. Another good news for Kométa fans that Kemencés Sült (Oven Baked) ham has also been improved. For Pápai Hús 1913 Kft. the Easter season is of major importance. Erzsébet Sebestyén, the company’s director of commerce told our magazine that sales of their high-quality Kőrishegyi ham and Esterházy ham will be backed by a big communication campaign and a strong in-store presence. Pápai Hús decided to segment its Easter portfolio in order to reach as many consumers as possible in an economic environment, where the majority of shoppers decide based on price and a smaller group of consumers who have more money to spend looks for premium products.