Trends in Europe suggest that over the next 10 years, meat consumption and production in the region will drop, while the rest of the world will increase its outputs.
Global meat exports are projected to rise 3% by 2032, while exports from the EU are expected to decrease by 16% during the same period.
Throughout Europe, consumers are expected to shift towards “leaner and allegedly more environmentally friendly alternatives” such as poultry and fish.
That is according to the latest Agricultural Outlook 2023-32 report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report outlines that about two thirds of meat is expected to be consumed by one third of the world’s population in 2032, due to high per capita use in high-income countries.
In some countries such as China, despite per capita consumption being comparatively low, total meat consumption will be substantial given their large population sizes.
Meanwhile, in Europe, poultry meat will be driven by its improved profitability in the medium-term due to shorter production cycles, according to the latest Agricultural Outlook 2023-32 report.
In Europe and North America, beef production will also have to adjust to stricter environmental sustainability standards which will likely place severe pressure on the profitability of the intensive model of production.
This could, according to the report, lead to European preferences of red meat, such as beef, to change, due to “mounting environmental and health concerns”.
But protein from animal sources will continue to account for the bulk of protein consumption in the high-income regions of North America, Europe, and Central Asia, researchers have indicated.
Pigmeat production in Europe is expected to decline over the next decade, with stricter environmental regulations and animal welfare standards contributing to this.
Sheepmeat production is projected to contribute only 6% to the overall growth in meat production and is expected to expand by 15% over the coming decade.
Meat industry
According to the Agricultural Outlook 2023-32, meat products in the EU will constitute 24% of total protein availability by 2032, despite the modest decline in consumption.
Europe and the central Asia region contributes more than 40% of livestock product exports globally, with almost 90% of these volumes coming from the EU.
Meat exports from the EU are expected to decline by 16% over the next 10 years, stemming from reduced production of the pigmeat sector but poultry and bovine meat exports are expected to remain stable.
Minor declines in pigmeat, bovine and ovine meat consumption are expected to be partly negated by rising poultry intake, with poultry taking up almost 30% of total meat consumption, by 2032 the report stated.