French foie gras prices could swell this year due to a surge in maize prices but the increase should have little impact on sales and exports which continued to rise last year, producers said.
Foie gras makers association CIFOG said half of French households had bought foie gras in 2010 and that sales had risen by 3.3 per cent while exports had gained 11 per cent versus 2009.
But the association said a 20 per cent increase in production costs in 2010, linked to a 54 per cent rise in duck feed prices due to soaring grain prices, needed to be passed on in sale prices. Makers already negotiated a rise of four to five per cent with retailers earlier this year.
Read Also
First-time pig mothers may need more lysine
Lysine feed recommendations may fall short for gilt pregnancies when it comes to making sure the mother pig can produce as much milk for her piglets as possible
This is not enough. Grain prices remain high so we will likely have to ask for another increase of around eight to nine per cent at the latest on July 1, CIFOG member Thierry Blandinieres said. It s not over. Spring will be hot but it is necessary.
Other sectors such as meat, cooking oil or pasta, which also use large amounts of grains and oilseeds, prices of which surged to at least two-year highs last year, faced similar problems.
But foie gras producers played down the impact of the price rise on their consumers.
French households spend an average of 28 euros per year on the luxury dish, mainly during the year-end festive season.
A rise of 10 per cent would only make two to three euros. I think that s acceptable for consumers, said Jean Schwebel, head of the European foie gras federation.
The earthquake and nuclear accident in Japan, France s third-largest export market after Spain and Belgium, were also expected to have an impact on 2011 sales as the Japanese tended to stay at home, Schwebel said, noting that a drop of 20-25 per cent in volume had already been observed since the event.
———
French households spend an average of 28 euros per year on the luxury dish.
