Despite the avian flu turmoil, foie gras held the bar during the end-of-year celebrations. If production, weighed down by the expansion of the epizootic in Pays de la Loire and the slaughter of millions of birds, has plummeted by 33% compared to 2021, the market has limited breaks during Christmas shopping and New Year’s Day* , according to figures reported by the Foie Gras Interprofessional (Cifog). Sales thus limited the fall to -19.2% in volume, thanks to corporate inventories and the rise in preserves, and -2% in value, driven by a significant rise in prices.
The French, for their part, have changed their consumption habits due to the reduction in supply and especially due to the rise in prices. Sales of blocks of foie gras, the cheapest product among the different preparations, thus fell by only 5.2% in volume and even increased by 14.7% in value compared to the previous year. Unlike whole foie gras (-20.8% in volume and -4.3% in value), block with pieces (-29.9% in volume and -11.4% in value) and especially 100% crumbled pieces (-47.9% in volume and -57.1% in value).
100 gram slices
Similarly, the French favored smaller formats: with rising prices, people buy a smaller product at the same price as the year before. Especially since companies have opted for this type of format to offer more attractive call prices in the inflationary context. In stores, slices from 100 grams to 199 grams accounted for 29.5% of volumes sold during the holiday season, compared to 25.9% in 2021. By contrast, slices larger than 400 grams that fell from 22.3% of the volumes in 2021 to 17.4%. % in 2022.
If the industry has saved furniture in France, much less internationally. Shaken by the fall in production and the escalation of prices, the French trade balance has plummeted, being only more positive at 8.4 million euros in 2021, compared to 38.9 million the previous year. France exported almost as much foie gras as the previous year (79.5 million euros in 2022 compared to 80.6 million in 2021), but its imports increased by 70% to 71.1 million euros, or an additional 30 million one year to another.
*Data collected by the Circana panelist in large and medium-sized stores between November 21, 2022 and January 1, 2023.
Source: BFM TV
