Consumption. Foie gras sold at a broken price – or at a high price – this year?

Will foie gras be sold off (or on the contrary more expensive) this year?

The health crisis and confinement, associated with the implementation of the Egalim law passed at the end of 2018 – limiting promotions in mass distribution to certain products in terms of value and volume – have hurt the profession. In 2019, sales of this king of festive tables fell by 488 tonnes in supermarkets and hypermarkets in France.

However, the industry does not intend to depreciate its star product. “The price will remain stable, more or less the same as last year” advance Michel Fruchet, president of Cifog, the Interprofessional Committee of Foie Gras Palmipeds. “There is no effect like those we have known, following avian influenza” he adds. At the time, the imposed quarantine weeks and the massive slaughter of poultry resulted in a price increase of around 20%. “It’s behind us” he assured Wednesday at a press conference in Paris.

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Expect to “eat” some

No increase in sight, therefore, but expect to “eat” it: advertising spots, partnerships with the programs “Petits dishes in balance” (TF1) and “Objectif Top Chef” (M6), large collective operation “Le Comptoir du canard “conducted with Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarché in 1,700 stores, recipes concocted by chefs such as the finalist of the” Top Chef “program, Adrien Cachot, named” ambassador “… The sector intends to hand over its products (foie gras, but also duck breast and confit) at the head of the gondola.

A seduction operation that will now be accompanied by attractive offers, the State having in fact granted exemptions to many producers to bypass the 25% cap on the annual volume imposed by the Egalim law, the inter-profession having argued that this framework was not suitable for festive and seasonal products.

On the other hand, the limitation of discounts to 34% of the value, which had not been called into question, remains unchanged. Customers will therefore have to bet on quantity: the more it is important, the more the discount will be interesting.

Mini-formats for mini-tables

However, against the backdrop of a pandemic, New Years 2020 is likely to be celebrated in (very) small committees. This did not escape Marie-Pierre Pé, director of Cifog: “We are strongly mobilized to offer the French a festive bubble and help them spend these holidays in more restricted configurations, even remotely, as we had. experienced during video aperitifs during confinement. We are going to offer packaging that is a little more suitable, mini-formats for mini-tables, and also controlled budgets, due to the economic impact that we all feel ” .

Enough to allow the industry to save its year? For now, all breeders, processors and traders estimate the amount of losses due to the Covid-19 crisis at 50 million euros.

“You know, we launch a bet every year” recalls Michel Fruchet. “If we miss Christmas, I was going to say we are not dead, but we are badly, we are even very badly. In January, we no longer talk about foie gras, but about the month of white. But I believe in French consumers, who are good epicureans. With every crisis that we have passed, the French always say to themselves Oh and hell, we have a good food…”.

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