General Director of the Agroalimentary Ministry Introduction
The name of Asturias evokes sensations associated to the quality of life, of its inhabitants and of its food for those who know our region: beautiful landscapes, welcoming people and good food. The excellent gastronomy of the Principality of Asturias has its profound roots in the ancestral knowledge of the popular cuisine, together with the use of some ingredients of a high quality the renowned fruit of the good labour of our farmers, cattlemen, artisans and industrial people.
The way to the differentiation and the quality that many agricultural producers have begun in recent times was already travelled, largely, by the Asturian products, based on some traditional and production methods respectful with the environment. The result of those practices are some differentiated productions, sustainable and of contrasted quality.
In the list of products and agricultural producers of the Principality of Asturias, we can find from an artisan cheese manufactured by a shepherd from the milk of his own animals, to products elaborated by leading national level companies, located in the first positions of their respective productive sectors.
The investigation the development and the innovation united in the respect for the inherited production methods of our elders ally to achieve improvements in the agricultural products of the Principality of Asturias.
The new challenge of the universalization of the markets forces us to carry out new efforts, to position these products in all the markets able to appreciate and value them. The limited production capacity, in some cases, motivated by the used elaboration methods or the linking to a territory: Denominations of Origin, Protected Geographical Indications, etc., should not be an obstacle for these “small” productions so that they cannot acceed to those markets where they can obtain the biggest added value possible.
Our agricultural industry has known how to adapt to the demands of the consumers and of the normatives applicable to the elaboration and the distribution, and for it the Asturian foods can be in any national and international market.
This agricultural forum is constituted as another tool, to be able to achieve that the agricultural productions of Asturias through the industries and sectors represented here, are known and that they are the sample of the good labour of our producers.
We welcome to the Principality of Asturias and we hope the commercial relationships that can settle down in the mark of this I Agricultural International Forum are beneficial for all.
Enrique Rodríguez Nuño
Director General de Ganadería y Agroalimentación
