Sibiu Salami to be promoted as a premium product in Romania, Italy and Spain using EU money

Sibiu Salami will be promoted in Romania, Spain and Italy for three years, through a European grant worth EUR 1.5 million, obtained by the Association of Sibiu Salami Producers (APSS). Starting this year, November 1 becomes the National Day of the Sibiu Salami.

The Association of Sibiu Salami Producers which includes six producers (Angst, Aldis, Agricola Bacau, Scandia Food, Cris-Tim and Reinert) announced on INDAGRA that Romanians love this super premium product, although they consume no more than 4 slices per year on average, at a production of 2,100 tonnes in 2017.

According to Carmen Gavrilescu, the president of the APSS, the association obtained a EUR 1.5 million grant through the European program Enjoy! It’s from Europe, and for three years (2018, 2019 and 2020), the Sibiu Salami will be promoted across Romania, Italy and Spain, and the first two promotional fairs in Barcelona and Turin have already taken place.

Gavrilescu said that an extremely complex program called the Night of Restaurants, will start on Friday, and with the help of one of the most famous chefs in Romania, will prove that the Sibiu Salami can go above the sandwich level and that you shouldn’t just have it for breakfast.

”The Sibiu Salami remains a super premium niche salami in the minds of our consumers, but we want to teach people to eat a quality product. In Romania, the average annual consumption is 4 slices per capita. Production in 2017 totalled 2,100 tons and we forecast 2,400 tons this year. Our goal is to reach 3,000 tons in the next two years and get another European funding, for another three years, which can be double if the application goes well,” Gavrilescu also said.

As for the exports, the association’s president claims that the Sibiu Salami mostly exists in the countries where there are many Romanians, namely Spain, Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, but their consumption is still quite low, with only about 2 percent of the total production.

The Sibiu Salami is the only Romanian product in the processed meat category recognized in 2016 with the European quality distinction Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).