Producers of France’s highly respected Bayonne hams have applied to the l’Institut national de l’origine et de la qualité (INAO), for certification as a protected product of origin (AoP). While Bayonne hams are already included in the IGP (protected geographic indication) system, the more highly regarded AoP (formely AoC) is considered to be of more value in luxury international markets.
The air dried, salted hams of the South West of France, from the Deux Sèvres district near Aveyron, are produced under carefully specified conditions from a limited range of pig breeds. Even the salt used to cure them must be from the famous Salies du Béarne source that is claimed to be almost 4000 years old.
While they are considered amongst the best cured pork meats of France, Bayonne ham producers have been struggling for profitability in recent years, and the application is part of the decision by the Consortium du Jambon de Bayonne to take on Italian and Spanish ham products in export markets.
Currently Spanish and Italian hams hold 80% of premium export markets in North America and the rest of Europe. The plan is to increase the 20% market share of Bayonne hams by at least 50% in places such as the United States.
Currently there are just 520 official producers of Bayonne ham, and expansion of exports is intended to increase their returns rather than expand production volume.
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Bayonne, and its ham along with it, is from the region of Pays Basque, not Deux Sevres
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