Buy the full study
Summary of our market study
Beef consumption in France is estimated at between 1.2 and 1.5 million tonnes per year
The global beef market is expected to reach 1160 billion dollars by 2025, with an annual growth rate of 7%. The world cattle herd stands at around 1 billion head.
The United States remains the world's leading beef producer, with an output of 13 million tonnes.
Trends in the French cattle market
France has the largest cattle herd in the European Union.
The French beef market is experiencing difficulties due to the steady decline in beef consumption, particularly among young consumers, and the impact of ethical concerns. Despite this, France remains Europe's leading cattle-producing country, with 17 to 18 million head of cattle, and between 3 and 4 million dairy cows.
Consumption of prepared meat dishes is on the rise.
The market is also challenged by changing consumer attitudes to animal welfare and environmental concerns.
Organic livestock meat production is a field in which France has taken the lead, with production approaching 85,000 tonnes.
The country is the world's leading exporter of live cattle, with a stable market share of around 11-12%.
French livestock farmers are grouped into cooperatives. There has been a structural decline in the number of farms, from over 215,000 to around 157,000 in 2020.
Producers are caught in a squeeze, with rising feed costs and retail prices that have risen only slightly.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides subsidies, and laws such as EGALIM II aim to take production costs into account when setting prices.
French cattle market players
- Agrial: At the forefront of cooperatives is the Agrial group, with an extensive portfolio in animal production, spanning a wide range of sectors.
- Terrena, Arterie: another significant cooperative
- Sodiial: Another notable cooperative giant is Sodiaal, a consortium focused on dairy products. .
- LDC: In the private sector, the LDC group is the market leader in poultry production, and although poultry is the main focus, its involvement in cattle breeding activities generates considerable income.
- Hendrix Genetics and Grimaud Frères: These entities are dedicated to the genetic selection of animals.
- Bigard, Charal, Socopa supermarket meat brands
to understand this market
Detailed content of our market study
Inforamtion
- Number of pages : ~ 40 pages
- Format : Digital and PDF versions
- Last update :
Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Introduction and scope of study
Cattle breeding encompasses all activities involved in the reproduction of bovine breeds for human consumption, particularly in the meat and dairy segments.
As in the rest of the meat and dairy sectors, the French cattle breeding market is experiencing slight difficulties. New consumer habits and the scandals revealed by the L214 association have largely contributed to tarnishing the sector's image.
Yet France is a major breeding ground for cattle, the largest in the European Union. As a result, French operators dominate this market, which is highly regulated at European level, and offer higher value-added products that are more resilient to this downturn in the sector. What's more, intensive livestock farming, with operations involving thousands of cattle, is virtually non-existent in France.
The number of farms has fallen considerably over the past 15 years. Faced with strong deflationary pressures and a structural decline in meat consumption, many small-scale farmers have gone bankrupt, while others have formed producer groups or cooperatives.
As aresult, there has been a marked increase in the number of medium-sized and large farms, which account for almost all French livestock. Farmers generally operate on an individual basis. They may also join cooperatives, which act as producer organizations, responsible for adding value to their members' production. The biggest players, such as Terrena and Agrial, are involved in the entire meat value chain, from breeding to processing.
List of charts presented in this market study
- Trends and estimates for the global cattle breeding market
- Distribution of world production by leading cattle breeding countries
- Trends in the number of cattle worldwide
- Trends in world beef production
- Breakdown of world beef production
All our studies are available online in PDF format
Take a look at an example of our research on another market!
Latest news
Jean-Michel Javelle elected Chairman of the Sodiaal cooperative - 20/06/2024
- - France's leading dairy cooperative: 20% of milk collected
- - Over 15,295 member-producers on 8,523 farms in 72 départements
- - Brands and business sectors :
- - Cheeses: Entremont, Monts & Terroirs, Fromageries Occitanes, Blamont.
- - Fluid milk, cream and butter: Candia.
- - Ultra-fresh products: Yoplait.
- - Specialized nutrition: Nutribio.
- - Dairy ingredients: Eurosérum, Bonilait.
While waiting to swallow Tipiak, Père Dodu's parent company lines up acquisitions - 02/05/2024
- Sales of 5.5 billion euros by 2023
- 19.000 operations and 11,900 employees
- Completion of the acquisition of Tipiak, a manufacturer of ready-to-eat meals and couscous semolina, scheduled for the end of May.
- The cooperative group has taken over the entire capital of Elivia, its beef subsidiary with total sales of 1.2 billion euros.
- The cooperative also acquired half the capital of Pampr'oeuf, to secure its egg distribution,
- Takeover of two Nutréa animal nutrition plants
- Acquisition of Dutch company Vandinter Semo, an expert in forage seeds and cover crops (sales of 40 million euros).
- French number two in poultry, with Galliance
- Objective: acquisition of Volatys, which markets over 40 million euros worth of frozen poultry products in Europe.
Sodiaal to pay for carbon reduction on member farms - 14/02/2024
- - Number of farmers in the Sodiaal dairy cooperative: 16055
- - Number of cooperative farms: 9007 - Percentage of farms to be assessed for animal welfare
With ITK, Innoval wants to make data talk to farmers - 27/11/2023
- Innoval recently acquired ITK, a Hérault-based SME specializing in R&D and artificial intelligence applied to agriculture.
- Innoval is based in Noyal-sur-Vilaine (Ille-et-Vilaine) and offers services to farmers in the fields of advice, genetics, health protection and reproduction.
- ITK's digital solutions will be deployed to Innoval's 30,000 member breeders in 26 departments in western France.
- ITK, founded in 2003, is based in Clapiers (near Montpellier) and also has offices in Rennes and San Francisco.
- Land O'Lakes, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the United States, remains a 7% shareholder in ITK.
- ITK achieved sales of 6.7 million euros in 2022, with 80 employees.
- Innoval achieved sales of 230 million euros this year, with 1,800 employees.
Sodiaal launches a campaign to support its Candia, Yoplait and Entremont brands - 09/09/2023
Coopérative Sodiaal brings together three major brands: Candia, Yoplait and Entremont. The cooperative brings together 16,000 farmers in 72 départements. The three brands are present in 9 out of 10 households.
Agri-food: Agrial continues to grow after merger with Natura'Pro - 01/06/2023
- Agrial: first place among French cooperatives
- Merger with Natura'Pro, agricultural cooperative in the Rhône Valley
- Agrial: sales of over 7 billion euros by 2022
- Natura'Pro: sales of 84 million euros in 2022
- Agrial: 14 agri-food sites in the Alpes Sud-Est region
- Natura'Pro has stores for agricultural professionals and the general public (under the Gamm Vert banner)
- Agrial sales doubled in ten years
Companies quoted in this study
This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :
Choosing this study means :
Access to more than 35 hours of work
Our studies are the result of over 35 hours of research and analysis. Using our studies allows you to devote more time and added value to your projects.
Benefit from 6 years' experience and over 1,500 industry reports already produced
Our expertise enables us to produce comprehensive studies in all sectors, including niche and emerging markets.
Our know-how and methodology enable us to produce reports that offer unique value for money.
Access to several thousand articles and paid-for data
Businesscoot has access to all the paid economic press as well as exclusive databases to carry out its market research (over 30,000 articles and private sources).
To enhance our research, our analysts also use web indicators (semrush, trends, etc.) to identify market trends and company strategies. (Consult our paying sources)
Guaranteed support after your purchase
A team dedicated to after-sales service, to guarantee you a high level of satisfaction. +44 238 097 0676
A digital format designed for our users
Not only do you have access to a PDF, but also to a digital version designed for our customers. This version gives you access to sources, data in Excel format and graphics. The content of the study can therefore be easily retrieved and adapted for your specific needs.
Our offers :
The cattle farmers' market in France | France
- What are the figures on the size and growth of the market?
- What is driving the growth of the market and its evolution?
- What is the positioning of companies in the value chain?
- Data from several dozen databases
Pack 5 études (-15%) France
- 5 études au prix de 75,6€HT par étude à choisir parmi nos 800 titres sur le catalogue France pendant 12 mois
- Conservez -15% sur les études supplémentaires achetées
- Choisissez le remboursement des crédits non consommés au terme des 12 mois (durée du pack)
Consultez les conditions du pack et de remboursement des crédits non consommés.
Our customer references
They have consulted our studies
Discover the opinions (+500)
Malcolm Vincent
Astoria Finance
Gregoire de Castelnau
Stags Participations
Timothé Huignard
PWC
Paul-Alexis Kebabtchieff
BCG
Aymeric Granet
Publicis Consultant
interviews & case studies
All interviews and case studies (45)
