Germany: Trend towards meat substitutes continues unabated: production will increase by 16.6% in 2023 compared to the previous year
121,600 tons of meat substitute products worth 583.2 million euros produced
hether veggie burgers, tofu sausage or seitan mortadella - the demand for vegetarian or vegan meat substitutes continues to grow. In 2023, companies in Germany produced 16.6% more meat substitutes than in the previous year, with production more than doubling in a 5-year comparison with 2019 (+113.8%), according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Around 121,600 tons of meat substitutes were produced in 2023, compared to 104,300 tons in the previous year. The value of these products increased by 8.5% year-on-year to 583.2 million euros in 2023 (2022: 537.4 million euros). The number of companies producing such products in Germany is also increasing continuously: most recently from 51 in 2022 to 67 in 2023.
Value of meat produced almost 80 times higher than that of meat substitutes
Despite this increase, the value of meat substitutes is relatively low compared to meat products. In 2023, the value of meat and meat products produced in Germany amounted to 44.8 billion euros - almost 80 times the value of meat substitutes. Compared to the previous year, the value of meat production increased by 5.6%. In 2019, the value of meat and meat products produced in Germany (€40.1 billion) was almost 150 times higher than that of meat substitutes (around €0.3 billion).
Meat consumption in Germany continues to decline
The increasing demand for meat substitutes is accompanied by a decline in meat consumption, which continued in 2023. According to preliminary figures from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), an average of 51.6 kilograms of meat per capita was consumed last year. This was a decrease of almost 12% compared to 2019 (58.5 kilograms per capita).
Methodological notes:
The value of production destined for sale is calculated on the basis of the ex-factory sales price achieved in the reporting period or achievable at the time of sale (sales value). The sales value also includes the cost of packaging, even if it is invoiced separately. Not included, however, are the invoiced sales and excise tax and separately invoiced freight costs and discounts.
In the production statistics, the goods division "Meat and meat products" is divided into the goods classes 1011 Meat (excluding poultry), 1012 Poultry meat and 1013 Processed meat.
Meat substitutes are recorded in the category "Vegetarian and vegan food preparations, for example vegetarian spreads, tofu products, vegetarian or vegan foods that appear to resemble sausage" under GP no. 1089 19 508. In addition to vegetarian spreads, soy patties or tofu, this also includes vegetarian sausage, for example.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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