Rising food industry sales and business growth in 2023

In 2023, the revenue of the food industry increased by 3 percent, primarily due to a growth in selling prices of approximately 6 percent. The number of companies in the sector grew last year, while the number of bankruptcies decreased compared to 2022, according to an analysis of preliminary data conducted by our editorial team based on CBS figures.

The total revenue in the first eleven months of 2023 rose by 3.6 percent compared to 2022. Domestic sales increased by 4.2 percent, while foreign sales saw a growth of 3.2 percent. The increase in total revenue was particularly notable in the first quarter, with a significant growth of over 20 percent. However, since July of last year, revenues have steadily declined, reaching a preliminary low point of almost 10 percent in September.

Decreasing Price Increases in the Food Industry

The selling prices of the food industry increased by a total of 5.9 percent in the period from January to November last year. Although prices increased every month, the growth rates decreased from January onwards. The most significant price increases occurred in the first three months, ranging from 18.3 percent in January to 12.2 percent in March. In November, the growth was only 0.7 percent. The vegetable and fruit processing industry (+24.1 percent) and the flour industry (+23.9 percent) showed the strongest growth, while the dairy industry, animal feed industry, and edible oils and fats industry experienced declines.

Increase in Companies and Decrease in Bankruptcies

The number of companies in the food industry increased by 7.7 percent last year, from 7180 at the beginning of the year to 7735 in the fourth quarter. The most significant growth occurred in the animal feed industry (+19.5 percent), fish processing industry (+12.1 percent), vegetable and fruit processing industry (+12.0 percent), and slaughterhouses and meat industry (+11.9 percent). In contrast to the overall industrial trend, where the number of bankruptcies increased by 67.7 percent, the number of bankruptcies in the food industry decreased by 10.7 percent, from 28 in 2022 to 25 in 2023. The bread and pastry industry recorded the most bankruptcies last year (13), while there were no bankruptcies in the fish processing industry, vegetable and fruit processing industry, edible oils and fats industry, and flour industry.