The cattle farmers' market in France - France

Cattle breeding encompasses all activities involved in the reproduction of bovine breeds for human consumption, particularly in the meat and dairy segments. As in the rest of the meat and dairy sectors, the French cattle breeding market is experiencing slight difficulties. New consumer habits and the scandals revealed by the L214 association have largely contributed to tarnishing the sector's image. Yet France is a major breeding ground for cattle, the largest in the European Union. As a result, French operators dominate this market, which is highly regulated at European level, and offer higher value-added products that are more resilient to this downturn in the sector. What's more, intensive livestock farming, with operations involving thousands of cattle, is virtually non-existent in France. The number of farms has fallen considerably over the past 15 years. Faced with strong deflationary pressures and a structural decline in meat consumption, many small-scale farmers have gone bankrupt, while others have formed producer groups or cooperatives.As aresult, there has been a marked increase in the number of medium-sized and large farms, which account for almost all French livestock. Farmers generally operate on an individual basis. They may also join cooperatives, which act as producer organizations, responsible for adding value to their members' production. The biggest players, such as Terrena and Agrial, are involved in the entire meat value chain, from breeding to processing.