Ham sales expected to grow by 10% this Christmas season

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the impact of recent calamities which adversely affected the Filipino consumers’ purchasing power, a meat processing company has projected an eight to 10 percent growth in Christmas ham sales this year.

“The market condition for Christmas hams this year is not as rosy as in previous years. But we still expect to post a moderate increase in company-wide sales of specialty hams,” said Jerome Ong, president of CDO-Foodsphere Inc. The growth target, however, represents a slowdown from a double-digit growth recorded in previous years.

 This forecast of moderate growth in sales of hams was supported by the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) which classified ham products as seasonal products whose sales pick up during special occasions such as Christmas.

PAMPI executive director Francisco Buencamino explained that Christmas hams are specialty products that cater to Filipino traditions. “Christmas is a special occasion for Filipinos and is a time for family gatherings, parties and reunions. Specialty hams have become a part of these traditions embedded in our culture,” he said.

“Although the meat processing sector as a whole sees a flat growth this year, ham makers are confident that they will have a single-digit growth because of the traditional demand for hams,” Buencamino said.

Ong said that Christmas hams normally account for 25 to 30 percent of total sales of processed meat products in December, which is considered the peak month. 

CDO-Foodsphere is one of the ham processors among the 33 members of PAMPI, the group that also includes major food companies such as Jollibee, GenOSI, Purefoods, Swift, Pacific Meat, Pampanga’s Best, and Virginia Foods in its membership roster.

The 20-year-old association boasts of an annual turnover of about P90 billion.

Ong said that despite the not-so rosy outlook for the meat processing industry, companies offer Christmas hams to the domestic market, especially during the holiday season.

“The challenge now is for ham makers to offer hams that match varied customer behaviors. You have to meet their specific needs and requirements, especially when it comes to taste, tenderness, size and, of course, price,” Ong said.

CDO-Foodsphere launched last week its selection of Christmas hams, including CDO Holiday Whole-Meat ham (P410 a kilo), CDO Pista Cooked Ham (P360 a kilo), Hamon de Bola (P295 a kilo), Pearshape Ham (P220 apiece), and American Ham (P148 apiece).

Ong said he is confident that CDO-Foodsphere will be able to meet its sales target in December, because of the high quality and affordability of CDO Christmas hams, which are made of tender young pork meat.

“For our CDO Holiday Whole-Meat Ham, we use only choice leg of young pork blended with the fine spices and ingredients and cured to perfection. There are absolutely no shortcuts in our ham making process, and we have been doing this for more than 30 years now,” he added.

He said CDO Christmas hams have been perfected through the years, with the stringent quality control under the supervision of company founder Corazon Dayro Ong, who was adjuged the Woman Entrepreneur of 2009 by Ernst & Young.