Positive holiday results but breeders remain cautious

In 2022, the volume of French foie gras production took a big hit in the wing with a 33% decrease compared to the year 2021, blamed for the second avian crisis in the south-west, expanding for the first time. Pays de Loire. Sales were down 18% due to the 2022 year-end holidays. And for the people of 2023? In October 2023, building up to the launch of the first vaccination…

In 2022, the volume of French foie gras production took a big hit in the wing with a 33% decrease compared to the year 2021, blamed for the second avian crisis in the south-west, expanding for the first time. Pays de Loire. Sales were down 18% due to the 2022 year-end holidays. And for the people of 2023? In October 2023, at the time of the start of the first vaccination of ducks against avian influenza, the sector, through its inter-professional association, Cifog, was counting on a 20% recovery in production.

“The offer was a bit low,” notes Inter-Profession general director Marie-Pierre Pay. However, despite the apprehension of inflation-linked buying actions, the sales results will be rather positive according to initial feedback from professionals. “Companies have offered new packaging of different sizes, thus offering foie gras for a variety of budgets. This packaging triggered the purchase. Additionally, we still have January, usually a very good month for foie gras. »

Vaccination for money

And on the production front? “We are going back to the slopes with great caution because there was a case of avian flu on January 2 at Vendy, at Vendy, with the slaughter of a vaccinated meat duck farm and a neighboring farm,” continues Marie-Pierre Pay. Be careful, while the first informal assessment of vaccination seems satisfactory: About ten outbreaks of avian flu in the Southwest since October have been found in vaccinated duck farms. But the analyzes did not reveal the highly pathogenic virus in these animals, which would save farms from preventive slaughter. “This is good news, but once again, the Wendy case requires us to be very vigilant. »

We will have to wait until the fall to draw the first conclusions on the effectiveness of the vaccine when the need for a third dose in the most densely populated areas has already been highlighted. A vaccine that does not avoid, even for a moment, the main difficulty of prevention: confinement of animals when the risk of virus circulation is high. “This has been the situation since the beginning of December and our breeders are struggling because no one is content to raise their ducks under cover. We hope that eventually, vaccination will reduce viral pressure and thus allow us to delay shelter measures. »

However, the sector does not intend to take any risks and is also considering bringing vaccination forward in summer. And the question of financing this operation will arise. For the first campaign, the state covered 85% (95 million euros) and intends to withdraw gradually for the following campaigns. “We are going to think of a solution through the National Agricultural Health and Environmental Pooling Fund, otherwise it will be up to the duck sector alone to organize itself with the inevitable impact on the selling price of the product…”