November 27, 2017

China set to turn Spain into its ham-per

located:	China, Spain
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

First it was caviar, and then truffles, but it seems now the Chinese consumer has developed a taste for Iberico ham, Spain's favourite traditional Christmas treat.

It used to be that the West would cast its luxury-seeking eyes over the world, and bring back whatever it wanted: Indian silk, Chinese tea, West African mangoes, and so on. The desire for these products would drive up the price of goods in their local markets, rendering it near-impossible for locals to buy them. Now, the global balance has shifted, and China is stretching its imperious hands out to Europe and America. The exporter has become the importer.

The current craze for Iberico ham is projected to outstrip supply in Spain, leaving locals facing ham shortages or astronomical prices. The fact that Spain is already in a tough national political situation means such a change in its home market will exacerbate the feelings many people have – that Spain's national power and control is slipping away. It might seem absurd to suggest that Chinese finesse for Spanish ham might cause a political problem in the country – but lately the West has suffered from increasing isolationism, antagonism towards China and increasing anti-Globalisation with very overt xenophobic tones. And China's liking for the ham will no doubt add to this feeling.

Furthermore, as Iberico ham is bred over a long time, and is land intensive, any increase in the farming of the ham will lead to increased pressure on the land – and we know how money likes to make land its plaything.

Again, this isn't to suggest that this is a major world problem – it's not. But the world is changing, in very real ways, and here is an example of one them. It is a sign of things to come in the West: increasingly catering to the luxury demands of China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Russia and so on. And we have to get used to it – else risk losing all like the UK is doing with Brexit, and the US is with Trump.