Spain's jamon conquers China

Jabugo, Spain

THE aroma is so extraordinary it's like "a punch in your mouth", says Luqi Wu, one of several Chinese businessmen standing in a cellar in south-western Spain surrounded by thousands of hanging ham legs.

While he samples the product, three of his colleagues learn to cut the ham as finely as possible - a crucial detail that they will put into practice back in Shanghai at tasting events for their own customers.

The world's top pork consumer, China, has started getting a serious taste for Spain's world-famous jamon which is sold there as a luxury product and is getting one over on its French and Italian competitors.

"At the beginning, customers were just looking for elegant products because they're rich," says Mr Wu, a sales manager at Jiarui Fine Foods, a Chi…