The live livestock trade market in France

According to Institut de l’élevage (Idele, the French livestock institute), cited by Pleinchamp in November 2025, France exports 1.4 million live cattle each year out of 5.5 million produced, including 1 million weaned calves (broutards) from beef breeds and 400,000 young dairy cattle, mostly calves heading to Spain. By weight, Eurostat records 432,456 tonnes of live cattle exported in 2025, a stable volume compared with 2024 (431,356 tonnes): the rise in value of the livestock trade in France comes from prices.

Italy is the leading customer of the French live livestock trade. According to Eurostat, France exported €1.68 billion of cattle (excluding pure-bred breeding animals) to Italy in 2025, at least 70% of its live cattle exports by value, a calculation based on Eurostat. Spain follows with €406.8 million, versus €235.7 million in 2024, a rise of 73%. Italian and Spanish fattening units mainly buy weaned calves (broutards) from French beef breeds.

The live livestock trade in France brings together private livestock dealers, cooperatives and livestock markets. According to the Fédération française des commerçants en bestiaux (FFCB, the French federation of livestock dealers), cited by Réussir in June 2023, 60% of the trade is handled by private operators, and 75% of ruminant farmers sell at least part of their animals through dealers. Livestock cooperatives, which also collect and export weaned calves, handle most of the rest of the trade.

Lumpy skin disease (dermatose nodulaire contagieuse, DNC), which appeared in 2025, has disrupted the live cattle trade in France. According to Réussir (February 2026), the two-week ban on all cattle movements in October 2025 temporarily lowered the price of weaned calves by 30 to 40 cents per kilo. Some weaned calves remained stuck for at least three months, seven months in the Pays de Gex, and around 50,000 were still waiting for an outlet in vaccination zones in early 2026.

The transport of live livestock in France is governed by European Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. The European Commission proposed its overhaul on 7 December 2023 (COM(2023) 770), including a ban on transporting animals for more than 9 hours to a slaughterhouse, according to the Sénat (the French Senate) briefing note. For livestock dealers exporting to Italy and Spain, journey times and rest periods have a direct impact on logistics.

A PDF report in French, 2026 edition, organised in six chapters: livestock trading and its scope, market size and dynamics, demand from farmers and fatteners, the players in the trade, animal health rules and transport, and the outlook.

Eurostat statistics, the work of Institut de l’élevage (the French livestock institute), the positions of the Fédération française des commerçants en bestiaux (the French federation of livestock dealers), European Commission texts and the specialist agricultural press. Every figure comes with its source and period.

Yes. The study is updated before it is sent, within 48 hours at most: it includes the latest published data, and every figure comes with its source and period.

Livestock dealers and farming cooperatives, animal exporters and hauliers, producer organisations, as well as bankers, insurers, consultants and investors who need to understand live livestock trading in France.

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