The butter market in France

Butter is a solid emulsion of fat globules, air and water, produced by churning milk or cream and used as a food. The earliest evidence of butter dates back to 2000 BC.

France, a country renowned for its gastronomic heritage and cuisine, is a major player in the butter sector. Indeed,France is the world's leading consumer of butter, with around 8 kg per person per year.

The French market has suffered from a degree of volatility in recent years. This is due to several key macroeconomic and political events: firstly, in 2015 the EU abolished its quotas for dairy producers. This led to a collapse in prices, resulting in a sharp contraction in market size against a backdrop of falling incomes. Furthermore, in 2017 French farmers experienced another shock to butter supplies, with the rising price of cow's milk, but also poor weather conditions. The rise in cost was due to political decisions in 2015; production slowed as farmers became wary of the possibility of selling off their stocks. Meanwhile, demand remained stable, pushing prices up drastically. In 2016, a tonne of butter cost 2,500 euros; by 2023, it had risen to 4,260 euros. Consumers have borne very little of this cost increase, as retailers (supermarkets and hypermarkets) have been reluctant to raise their prices too much , and producers have therefore had to cut their margins.

In France, the butter market is highly concentrated. According to ACOSS, there were 12 companies registered under NAF code 10.51B ("Butter manufacturing") in 2023. On the other hand, this is a market with a high density of labor.

Ona global scale, the market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.8% until 2033. This growth comes against a backdrop of increased use and demand for butter in food processing, but also because demand for food products containing butter (e.g. pastries) is on the rise.

overall, consumption of butter and margarine is declining, while that of organic butter is rising steadily.