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The production of foie gras will fall again this year. The sector is hit hard by the avian flu which is raging in the south-east of France and the Pays de la Loire, the two main production areas.
The French poultry sector is going through an unprecedented crisis. 1,057 operators have already been affected. More than 10 million ducks and other poultry have been slaughtered or are about to be to stem the bird flu. This is the fourth time since 2015 that France has been affected by this virus. But this time, the epizootic has taken on an unprecedented scale. Until then confined to the south-east of France, the cradle of foie gras, the flu has since February spread to the Pays de la Loire. A region essential to restarting production in the South-East, because it provides 72% of the ducklings in the sector, explains Marie-Pierre Pé, director of the interprofessional committee of palmipeds with foie gras.
Result: supply will be significantly reduced this year. The sector does not give figures, because if the epizootic has been stopped in the south east, it continues to wreak havoc in the Pays de la Loire. It is a blow for breeders as they have not yet recovered from last year’s crisis when 22% of national production was lost due to avian flu.
A double penalty for the sector which is also suffering from the rise in the price of raw materials. Poultry are big consumers of cereals such as wheat or corn, the prices of which have soared since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Food represents more than 60% of the cost of breeding, estimates Marie Pierre Pé. Reduced supply, higher charges, foie gras will cost more to French consumers. Especially since the lack of production in France cannot be compensated by imports from Eastern European countries, as they are also affected by the virus.