Meat consumption in Germany drops by 2.1 kg in 2021

Per capita German meat consumption fell by 2.1 kilograms compared to 2020 and is thus at a new record low since consumption was calculated in 1989. This is according to preliminary data from the Federal Agricultural Information Centre (BZL). In total, meat with a slaughter weight of 8.3 million tonnes was produced in 2021, some 2.4 percent less than in the previous year.

Per capita consumption in 2021 compared to the previous year decreased by 1.2 kilograms for pork, by 600 grams for beef and veal and by 200 grams for poultry. Possible reasons for the declining meat consumption are the trend towards a plant-based diet. The further decrease of out-of-home consumption in restaurants, canteens or at events due to the pandemic might have influenced this development.

Less imports, less net production

As in the previous year, the fall in consumption was accompanied by a fall in imports of meat, meat products and canned pork, beef and veal and calves (-6.8 percent). Imports of poultry meat were almost constant.

Furthermore, the volume of foreign trade in live animals decreased again in 2021: in particular, imports fell by almost a fifth (19.6 percent) and exports by one percent across all animal species.

The trends in foreign trade affect the net production - of domestically slaughtered animals: compared to 2020, 2.4 percent less pork was produced. For beef, veal and poultry, net production fell by 1.6 per cent.

Self-sufficiency rate at 121 per cent

According to the provisional figures, the overall self-sufficiency rate in meat for 2021 will be 121 per cent, an increase of 2.5 percentage points. The self-sufficiency rate for pork is 132.4 per cent, for beef and veal 98.2 per cent. In the case of poultry, 96.7 per cent of domestic demand can be met by domestic production.

Ble.de