Dampened by Spain and Japan, French foie gras exports looks confident to Middle East

Low Spanish and Japan sales in 2011 weigh on French foie gras exports, as the French producers reported a fell of 8 percent for last year.

A small rise in sales within France, pegged at 1.1 percent in volume in supermarkets, however, meant that overall sales of French foie gras in 2011 were about flat, CIFOG (Comité Interprofessionnel du Foie Gras) said to reuters.

The good news come from Asia, where Hong Kong imports of French foie gras surged more than 25 percent in volume last year and the Middle-East, notably the Emirates and Qatar, are more and more attracted by the product’s luxury image.

Sales of halal foie gras, prepared according to Muslim rituals, were marginal, but producers said demand was increasing quickly, both on the export front and in Europe.