Meat association: the majority of meat processors expect turnover to exceed last year

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 03. 20. 13:12

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Before this year’s Easter season, there was no significant increase in the price of raw materials, so meat processors expect at least a turnover similar to last year, most of them expect an increase of 5-15 percent during this year’s holiday season – the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Hungarian Meat Industry Association wrote in a joint statement on Wednesday in its announcement, in which consumers were recommended to look for domestic products, since the Hungarian origin is a guarantee of quality.

It was pointed out that at smaller plants, the Easter traffic can reach 30 percent of the annual volume. The pigs that serve as the raw material for the classic Easter country ham are slaughtered towards the end of winter, at least 5-6 weeks before Easter. After cutting, the pork leg or shoulder, together with the bone, is salted and marinated for 4-5 weeks, and only then is it smoked, which can also take several days, even a week – they explained, adding that the ham can then be cooked and eaten, but there are cases where the after smoking, it is aged in a cool place for days or even weeks.

In the announcement, it is recalled: this traditional way of preparing ham was developed in the old days, when, due to the lack of refrigerators, pigs were slaughtered only in the cold, winter months. However, ham could only be cut, cooked and eaten at Easter, which often fell in the later spring months, when the weather was already warm. This is also why salting and pickling, which ensure shelf life, were necessary.