Despite inflation, the French are not giving up flank steak or chicken on their plate. In 2022, meat consumption in France is on the rise for the second consecutive year (0.8%), according to the latest report from Agreste, in charge of monitoring statistical data at the Ministry of Agriculture. While a third of this increase is explained by “natural population growth”, the remaining two thirds are due to the increase in average consumption per capita (0.5%), which goes from 84.9 kg, (carcass equivalent), in 2021 to 85.2 kg per capita in 2022.
Among butcher’s meat, it is in particular the consumption of pig meat which has experienced the strongest increase (1.6%), while that of poultry meat is down slightly, by 0.4%, driven down by the consumption of turkey and duck which have been affected by bird flu. Beef, for its part, rose slightly, by 1.0% compared to 2021, “after having been at its lowest in 2020 and 2021 for twenty years”.
But, paradoxically, households are buying less and less meat. This decline concerns their consumption at home: a contraction which underlines an increase in the demand for meat by the French outside their homes, especially in restaurants.
If meat consumption in France in 2022 is on the rise and purchases are down, it is because catering – especially fast food – leaves “a very important place for meat products”, according to the report. Indeed, the Livestock Institute has estimated that 24% of the volumes of beef produced and imported into France in 2017 were consumed in catering. However, the years 2020 and 2021 were a turning point in the consumption of meat by the French: the strong restrictions on these establishments had then led to an increase in household purchases for their consumption at home. The year 2022, in line with the gradual end of this atypical situation, would thus be a “substantial restart” according to the balance sheet.
Faced with this increase in out-of-home meat consumption, the French seem less careful about the origin of their nuggets or hamburgers: imports have thus increased by 11.5% in 2022. Chicken, which has for for the first time exceeded beef in the ranking of the most consumed meats in France, is particularly affected by this increase.
Thus, to meet the strong domestic demand for chicken, imports are required, since they cover “50% of chicken meat consumption and largely supply out-of-home catering.” They come first from Belgium, then from Poland, according to the report. As for beef, nearly 88% of it comes from the European Union and covers 21% of its consumption. Meat less present in catering establishments such as duck or rabbit saw their consumption drop by 26.9%.
Meat consumption in 2022 in France was also affected by the context of high inflation, compared to 2021. “Average purchase prices are experiencing a significant increase, more marked for poultry than for butcher’s meat”. In the wake of the post-pandemic economic recovery and following the sharp rise in energy prices, meat products have not been spared, with an average price increase of 6.1% in 2022. more pronounced increase among red meats, the average purchase price of which increased by 11.1% compared to 2021. And for white meats, which are generally less expensive, the increase is in particular 9.7% for chicken, following “higher production costs and reduced supply due to avian influenza”.
However, the sun in 2022, more favorable than in 2021, benefited outdoor grilling and barbecues, up 5.9% in volume: skewers are also up, by 4% in volume, despite a price that increases by 5.6%.
