The consumption of meat in France has decreased over the past twenty years, with a notable drop in beef and an increase in chicken. In 2022, the average meat consumption per capita was 83.5 kg carcass equivalent, down from 84.3 kg in 2003. This decrease is attributed to a decline in beef consumption, while the popularity of chicken has been on the rise.
Between 2021 and 2022, total meat consumption saw a slight increase following two years of decline post-Covid-19. However, this increase did not keep pace with population growth. Meat imports also remained high, accounting for over 30% of total meat consumption in France. Beef and pork consumption have reached their lowest levels in twenty years, while chicken consumption continues to rise.
Chicken meat now accounts for 28% of total meat consumption in France, compared to only 14% twenty years ago. On average, the French consume 23.3 kg of chicken per year, up from just 17 kgec twenty years ago. To meet the growing demand for chicken meat, France has increasingly relied on imports from Poland and Belgium.