Consumption has been declining for years
Meat consumption fell particularly sharply in 2022
4/3/2023 8:03 p.m
While the meat industry suffers from an image problem, the trend towards plant-based nutrition is growing. At the same time, the prices of meat products have increased dramatically. This also has an impact on meat consumption in Germany.
People in Germany are eating less and less meat. According to the Federal Information Center for Agriculture (BZL), based on preliminary figures, 52 kilograms of meat were consumed per person in 2022, around 4.2 kilograms less than in the previous year. This is the lowest level since calculations began in 1989. According to the BZL, people ate around 2.8 kilograms less pork, 900 grams less beef and veal and 400 grams less poultry. For industry experts, the trend that has been observed for years is less remarkable than the extent of the decline. It was twice as high as in the previous year.
Heike Harstick, General Manager of the Meat Industry Association, sees the main reason for this in the dramatically increased prices for meat and meat products. “Inflation leads to reluctance to buy and reduced consumption,” she said. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, beef, veal and pork were around 20 percent more expensive in December 2022 than a year earlier, and poultry had even gone up by more than 30 percent. “The fact that such inflation affects shopping behavior is very clear,” said Harstick. In addition, the meat industry suffers from an image problem due to negative reporting in the media.
The BZL sees an important reason for the declining meat consumption in the trend towards a plant-based diet. However, other experts interviewed considered the effects of this trend to be rather small due to the still small market shares of such products.
Sales hui, quantities ugh
According to figures from the market research company GfK, the purchasing volumes for meat and sausages in the food trade even fell by 8.4 percent in 2022. According to GfK, it was also noticeable here that after the end of the corona restrictions, more people were eating outside the home – in restaurants and canteens.
GfK recently described the situation in the food trade with meat products with this sentence: “Due to the high prices, sales are hui, but the quantities are (still) ugh.” According to the BLZ, the declining meat consumption is also reflected in meat production in Germany. Compared to the previous year, 9.8 percent less pork and 8.2 percent less beef and veal were produced. Net production of poultry meat fell by 2.9 percent.