French feed grain demand at fresh low

French animal feed consumption so far in 2022-23 has fallen sharply below year-ago levels and long-term averages amid rising bird flu cases, low slaughter rates and price-induced demand rationing.

Domestic feed consumption of the three main grain crops — wheat, corn and barley — in the first two months of the 2022-23 marketing year (July-August) totalled 588,000t and 631,000t, respectively, down from 786,000t and 796,000t for the same period a year ago, agricultural and sea products agency FranceAgriMer data show.

The decrease was mainly pronounced for wheat, with the feed industry consuming 650,000t of the crop in July-August, down from about 940,000t a year before. The use of barley fell to 155,000t from 240,000t a year ago. Corn consumption saw a marginal increase to 415,000t in 2022-23 from 406,000t a year before.

High wheat, corn and barley prices globally and in the domestic market have pushed the animal industry to opt for alternative crops, with triticale, sorghum and oat consumption rising on the year.

But steady declines in domestic poultry and pig slaughter have offered a greater downside to feed consumption. France's monthly poultry slaughter rates stood at 110,000t in July, below the seven-year average of 137,000t, while cumulative volumes from January to July reached 846,000t, compared with an average of 963,000t for the period over 2014-21, Eurostat data show.

French poultry farming, along with many European countries, has been hit by bird flu since August 2021 — the worst to date, according to the European Food Safety Authority. France reported nearly 1,400 outbreaks in livestock and 19mn farm birds culled over August 2021-May 2022. Cases were confirmed in another 18 farms on 1 August-2 October, according to the French government.

Cases could further spread in the next few weeks, affecting poultry farming in other parts of the world, as the wild bird migration season unfolds, with France at the crossroads of northern Europe and Africa.

By Katia Quenelle

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