Brussels, 21 February 2020 -

The consumption of foie gras is declining.
This is according to the figures from market research agency GFK.
In 2019, 229,100 kilos of foie gras were purchased in Belgium.
In 2017 that was 257,100 kilos.
The number of families buying foie gras is also falling: from 703,000 in 2017 to 623,000 in 2019.
"Our campaigns are bearing fruit," says GAIA chairman Michel Vandenbosch.
"The downward trend in the purchase and consumption of foie gras is clear."

GFK conducted a study into the consumption of foie gras in Belgium.
And the results are good: in 2 years (2017-2019), no less than 28 tons less foie gras was consumed in Belgium.
The number of families that bought foie gras also fell sharply from 703,000 to 623,000 between 2017 and 2019 (out of a total of 4,900,000 families).
In 2018, there were 637,000 families.

And in Flanders?

The product is also under pressure in Flanders. Between 2017 and 2019, the number of families buying foie gras fell from 180,000 to 151,000 (-29,000 families). In 2017, the Flemish still bought 50,000 kilos of foie gras, in 2019 that will be 44,100 kilos, a decrease of almost 6,000 kilos.

In the case of Brussels, the volume purchased falls from 43,100 kilos in 2017 to 32,200 kilos (-10,900 kilos) in 2019. The number of families that bought foie gras then decreases from 110,000 in 2017 to 82,000 in 2019.

As far as Wallonia is concerned, the number of families buying foie gras is falling: from 412,000 in 2017 to 396,000 in 2018 to 390,000 in 2019. However, the volume purchased at our southern neighbors is increasing because families who still buy foie gras buy more. For example, 143,400 kilos of foie gras were purchased in 2018 and 152,800 kilos in 2019. In 2017 that was still 163,900 kilos.

Ban on sale and import

In Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region, GAIA succeeded in getting a legal ban on forced feeding for the production of foie gras approved.
In Flanders, forced feed for foie gras ended on December 1, 2023, at the latest.
"We are now going one step further and are asking for a ban on the sale and import of foie gras produced by force feed," said Vandenbosch. "In the meantime, of course, we continue to work for a ban on forced feeding in Wallonia."