Are Icelanders switching to pork?

Sales of pork in Iceland in 2015 were 11.8% up on the previous year, with pork on the cusp of overtaking lamb on the Icelandic market.

6,462 tonnes of lamb was sold last year, 1.9% down on 2014 and second only to poultry (8,201 tonnes). But lamb may soon lose this second position to pork, which saw a spike in sales last year with 6,364 tonnes sold.

One theory is that there was a surplus of pork production last year leading to a series of promotions and discounts – resulting, in turn, in more pork in Icelandic shopping trolleys.

Another theory suggests that the rise in pork sales could be down to tourists, who are perhaps more used to eating pork than lamb and are more prone to order pork when eating out. Some feel that Iceland has not been successful enough in promoting Icelandic lamb among visitors from abroad.

Whatever the reason – or set of reasons – the fact is that sales of lamb are falling in Iceland, despite a growing population and tourist numbers, and that its market share is clearly moving over to pork.