Point of view: Decline in European pork consumption in 2023

Inflation for pork products remained high in Europe compared to beef. More accessible, consumption of pork fell more moderately (-6.1%) than that of beef (-8.0%), to 39.9 kg eq. carc. per inhabitant per year ⁽¹⁾. With the exception of Germany and Italy, consumption fell in most countries. The rise of food insecurity and the adoption of ready-to-eat products that are healthy and fresh with little effort, help to explain this decline in consumption.

In 2023, food inflation remained high in the EU-27, despite the decline in general inflation. As an annual average, it reached 12.7%. Meat prices in 2023 were 10.7% higher than in 2022. By comparison, pork recorded the highest increase (+11.7%), with poultry (+8.0%) and beef (+7.4%) rising more moderately.

In Spain, the rise in retail pork prices was the most sustained (+15.1%). In France, it was 9.5%, in Germany 7.0% and in the Netherlands 6.0%. In Denmark, on the other hand, the increase was more moderate (+2.4%), with a two-year cumulative figure of 9.8%. Since September 2023, the rate of inflation for pork products in Europe has begun to stabilize, and has even fallen in some countries such as France, Germany and Denmark.

Change in the harmonized consumer price index between 2023 and 2022,
between 2023 and 2021 in selected European countries

Source : Ifip based on Eurostat

This inflationary context has continued to put pressure on low-income households, and has contributed to the decline in meat consumption, the largest item in household food budgets. The quantity of meat, excluding poultry, consumed in the EU-27 has fallen by 3.9 kg over the last four years, reaching 55.3 kg/capita in 2023, or a total of 36.5 M tce. Including poultry,