April 4, 2023

 

Germany exports nearly 2.9 million tonnes of meat, meat products last year

 

 

Germany exported almost 2.9 million tonnes of meat and meat products in 2022, with exports mostly delivered to other EU countries.

 

The amount represents a drop of 6.9% compared to the previous year. Over the past five years, meat exports have fallen by 19.3%.

 

In 2017, Germany exported almost 3.6 million tonnes of meat.

 

By category, 1.5 million tonnes of pork was exported in 2022 (50.5% of total exports), down 20.4% over the past five years. Beef exports fell by 11.4% to 254,000 tonnes, but exports of poultry meat remained relatively constant (-0.2%), at about 481,500 tonnes.

 

Import restrictions in consumer countries, such as China, are likely one of the reasons for the decrease in meat exports. While 9.7% of all meat exports went to China in 2017, this figure was only 0.1% in 2022.

 

A similar trend can be observed in meat imports. Last year, Germany imported two million tonnes of meat, mainly from other EU countries, which represents a 4.5% decrease compared to the previous year. Over the past five years, meat imports have fallen by 15.9%. In 2017, Germany imported 2.4 million tonnes of meat.

 

By category, there is also a clear drop in the amount of Germany's imported pork. This fell by almost a quarter (-23.4%) from 2017 to 2022. In 2022, around 701,400 tonnes of pork was imported. Beef imports fell by 12% to just under 324,200 tonnes and poultry imports fell less sharply (-5.2%) to 657,600 tonnes.

 

Like many other food prices, meat prices also rose above average last year.

 

In 2022, German consumers paid 14.5% more for meat and meat products compared to the year prior. Poultry meat was the most expensive (+22.9%), followed by beef (+19.2%) and pork (+16.7%).

 

- Destatis (Germany)