Italian ham producers are hoping that the Geographical Indication (GI) agreement between the European Union and China will boost exports and help their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.   

The deal, which formally came into effect on March 1, aims to raise awareness of traditional products with unique characteristics. Prosciutto di Parma is among the Italian foods on the list. 

For the Sassi family, production dates back 120 years. Guglielmo Sassi is the fourth-generation owner of the Casale Italian Food Company. 

"Prosciutto di Parma is really a traditional product because it is connected with the Parma area and the special weather conditions we have here," he said. 

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Paolo Tramelli is the marketing manager of the Prosciutto di Parma Association and says the recognition that the GI agreement offers is priceless.

"It is protection not only for our producers but also for the consumers because they know that when they buy Prosciutto di Parma, they buy the authentic one," he said. 

The pigs must be bred in Italy with a specific diet, be at least nine months old and weigh on average 170 kg. In the skin of each ham, a tattoo indicates where and when each pig was born. 

Sassi says no additives at all are used along the production line. "Prosciutto di Parma is a completely natural product, the ingredients are only Italian sea salt, Italian pork meat, time and love."

After being cured for at least 12 months, each prosciutto undergoes rigorous checks before being given the "crown" of approval, with a fire-branded stamp. 

Italy started exporting prosciutto di Parma to China 10 years ago. Since then, it's become the second biggest market in Asia, with 25,000 hams sent there each year.

It's a lot fewer than the 600,000 exported to the U.S. each year. However, the Chinese market can't be underestimated.  

"I think in the Chinese market there is a very big potential, because the Chinese customer has a very important knowledge about how to consume pork meat and they can understand very well the quality of the pork we use to produce prosciutto di Parma," explains Sassi. 

Other products of excellence on the list include Parmigiano Reggiano and Modena's Balsamic Vinegar.