Saturday, November 13th, 2021
“Christmas market swept clean”
Roast goose is likely to become significantly more expensive
Because geese are in short supply, this year consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets for their Christmas feast. According to experts, poultry from Germany should be at least 20 percent more expensive. Significantly more could be due for imported goose meat.
Market experts in Germany warn that roast goose could become a scarce commodity during the Christmas season. Breeding farms and supermarkets are already finding it difficult to meet the demand. “The market for waterfowl is probably cleared for Christmas,” said Marluis Gentgen from the market monitoring company MEG of “Welt am Sonntag”.
“Now the restaurants are scrambling for the few geese,” said Cologne-based restaurant manager Laura Bechtold. An unnamed buyer from a large supermarket chain warned that fresh geese in particular were in short supply. He described the situation with frozen goods as slightly better.
In any case, according to experts, customers have to be prepared for significantly higher prices: For geese from Germany at least 20 percent more would have to be paid, said Mechthild Cloppenburg from the Bonner Agrarmarkt-Informationsgesellschaft (AMI). Imported goose meat costs as much as 40 percent more than a year ago.
The devastating avian influenza and corona are cited as reasons for the price surge. The breeders in Germany are just as affected by this as the competitors from the most important supplier countries Poland and Hungary.