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🇩🇪 Germany /Economy & Trade

Germany’s poultry consumption is rising, but more meat is coming from abroad

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Documents & data Context piece
  • Germans consumed 14.7 kilograms of poultry per person in 2025, more than two kilograms above the 2022 level, according to figures cited by the industry.
  • The poultry association expects consumption to grow by 3.4% annually through 2040, driven mainly by chicken, while turkey consumption has declined.
  • Domestic production covered 91% of German consumption in 2025, as the industry cited regulatory hurdles, disease outbreaks and slow capacity expansion.

Nine out of 10 chickens and turkeys eaten in Germany in 2025 were raised domestically. That share is expected to fall as poultry consumption continues to grow faster than production.

The Central Association of the German Poultry Industry, or ZDG, made the forecast in an analysis prepared with consulting firm Roland Berger. Per-capita poultry consumption rose by more than two kilograms between 2022 and 2025, reaching 14.7 kilograms, according to figures previously released by Germany’s agriculture ministry.

That means about 50% more market volume by 2040.

· Central Association of the German Poultry IndustryThe association forecast the effect of continued poultry consumption growth.

The industry says total consumption increased by 30% between 2010 and 2025, reaching almost 1.9 million tonnes a year. The ZDG expects annual consumption growth of 3.4% through 2040, which it says would create about 50% more market volume.

Chicken is driving the increase. Consumption of chicken rose 65% between 2010 and 2025, while turkey consumption fell by almost a quarter. Domestic production also expanded, but at a much slower pace, increasing by nearly 10% over the same period. In 2025, German production covered 91% of domestic consumption.

Although the industry wants to invest and expand its capacities, domestic production capacity is growing significantly more slowly than would be possible.

· Central Association of the German Poultry IndustryThe report described the gap between rising consumption and domestic production.

The association says producers want to invest and expand capacity but face restrictive conditions in Germany. It points to lengthy approvals for new poultry houses, rising animal-welfare and environmental requirements, extensive reporting obligations and outbreaks of animal disease, including Newcastle disease and atypical avian influenza detected in Brandenburg and Bavaria this spring.

The ZDG is calling for faster cuts to bureaucracy. It wants planning, construction, environmental and emissions-protection procedures to become simpler, more digital and more predictable. It also says empty poultry houses should be converted more quickly and that clear political guidance could give local authorities greater certainty when making decisions.

Planning, construction, environmental and emissions-protection procedures should become simpler, more digital and more predictable.

· Central Association of the German Poultry IndustryThe association called for regulatory reforms to support production expansion.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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