Meat, more and more expensive on the shelves. The price of meat to the consumer increased by 8.8% in July 2022 compared to the previous year, according to INSEE. An increase slightly higher than the average increase in the prices of all foods, which reached 7.4%.
While the price of poultry increased by 14.6%, the price of beef increased by 10.2%. In detail, the cost of minced meat is increasing faster than that of cut meat. In fact, the average prices of fresh and frozen minced meat have increased by 26% and 30%, respectively.
Among the factors that explain this outbreak we find the increase in production costs, starting with the raw materials and the fuel necessary for cultivation, as well as the collection of fodder to feed the animals. The entire production chain is also facing increased processing and transportation costs due to rising energy costs.
A reduction in the number of animals.
But, according to the National Interprofessional Association of Livestock and Meat Interbev, the decapitalization of the cattle herd, that is, the reduction in the number of animals, is the main reason for this rise in prices.
In France, the cattle herd has lost 650,000 suckler and dairy cows since 2017, a drop of almost 8%.
The poultry sector was also affected
The poultry sector is also affected by this increase in production costs. “The increase in production costs in the sector has reached an unprecedented level, from +45% to +50% in two years,” says Jean-Michel Schaeffer, president of the interprofessional body for poultry meat, Anvol.
But breeders also have to deal with the bird flu epidemic that in 2022 led to the slaughter of 20 million birds, including 12 million meat birds. The interprofession forecasts a 30% drop in the production of roast ducks, 18.7% of guinea fowl, 17.7% of turkeys and 3.3% of chickens.
Consequence of these increases: the price of chicken meat leaving the slaughterhouse, for example for the food industry, increased “30 to 35% between January 2020 and July 2022”, according to Anvol Vice President Gilles Huttepain. At the same time, French poultry farmers are concerned about increased imports of chickens, sold at more competitive prices.
Source: BFM TV
