M. Shahbandeh
Research expert covering agriculture & FMCG
Processed meat market in Europe - statistics & facts
The European processed meat market has been increasing consistently since 2019 and is projected to grow further in the next five years. By 2029, the market is expected to reach over 170 billion U.S. dollars led by cold and roast meats category. As of 2024, sausage category sales were estimated at over 50 billion U.S. dollars across Europe.
Market leaders
Europe hosts some of the biggest meat processing companies in the world. In 2024, the Danish Crown AmbA company generated approximately over 10.5 billion euros in revenue, making it one of the biggest meat processers in Europe. The German family-owned meat processing company Tönnies, is another European giant in the meat processing and preservation sector with revenue of over six billion euros annually. Germany is also the largest producer of sausage in Europe, producing over nine billion euros worth of sausage products in 2023. In fact Germany is the biggest global exporter of sausages with over one billion euros in trade value every year.Consumer insights
Europeans consume meat products and sausages regularly. A recent survey depicted that about two-thirds of responding consumers in Poland stated that they regularly consumed meat and sausage. The volume of processed meat consumed by all Spanish homes was more than 477 million kilograms in 2023. Processed meat consumption in Spain has been declining since it peaked in 2020, with more than 572 million kilograms consumed. This could be related to the price increase of this food category. In Spain the average price of processed meat went up from nine euros per kilo in the start of 2020, to 12 euros per kilo by the end of 2023. Similarly, as of September 2024, the consumer price index for bratwurst in Germany stood at 129.2, marking an increase of over 29 percent from 2020. In parallel, food costs have emerged as a significant concern across Europe. In Portugal, over 70 percent of respondents ranked food prices among the top five personal issues, with a similar sentiment shared by nearly 62 percent of respondents in German. Consumption of processed meat products could decline further in Europe with further price inflation in the future.
