Germany: Consumers bought less pork in 2023
According to the Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI), private households in Germany bought 0.7% less meat, sausage and poultry last year compared to 2022. At the same time, consumers had to dig deeper into their pockets. In the period between January and December 2023, they paid an average of 6.5% more for meat and sausage products as well as for meat alternatives than in the previous year. The numbers refer to purchases in food retailers and not to total meat consumption.
Even if meat is still in demand in German households, pork in particular suffered a loss of demand in 2023. Last year, 6.6% less pork was sold in grocery stores, according to AMI. Pork consumption has been declining sharply for more than ten years. While in 2013 the average per capita consumption was 38.6 kg per German citizen, in 2023 every German consumed an average of only 27.4 kg per person.
The AMI also reports declines in sales in food retail for beef (-2.9%) and meat substitute products (-2.1%). However, there was an increase in purchased quantities for minced beef/pork mixed (+5.0%) and for poultry (+2.8%). The demand from private households for meat products/sausages remained relatively constant (-0.2%).
In addition to changing consumption habits, the AMI also cites the sharp rise in prices as a reason for the decline in private demand. Prices for all types of meat as well as meat substitute products were higher than in the same period last year. With an increase of 8.6%, the price increase for pork was the highest compared to other categories.
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