The French pride in their foie gras industry is facing competitors from China.
According to a report by the US Wall Street Journal on July 12, China currently produces about 11,000 tons of giblet annually, accounting for 45% of the global supply. China has become one of the world’s most important countries in giblet production. As Chinese companies continue to expand their market through price advantages, the French giblet industry is also beginning to pay attention to this change.
French Puy gallo association head Alexander Leon said that if Chinese foie gras enters the European market, consumers may initially have concerns, but ultimately it is the price that will determine market choices. “This could change the entire industry.”
Source Image: French Delicious Goulash IC Photo
Reports say that French chef Nadia Mérian came to Beijing 10 years ago to open a French restaurant. Now, she is involved in China's liver production industry, working at a liver farm in Jilin, with the hope of improving the quality of Chinese-produced liver products. She believes that in the future, even French consumers may be willing to try liver produced in China.
The report mentions that the development of foie gras industry in China stems from efforts to cultivate characteristic rural industries. The government provides support through loans and market promotion, and the industry is currently mainly concentrated in places like Shandong and Anhui. By relying on large-scale breeding and cost advantages, Chinese companies have gradually opened up the market.
According to Evan Pei, an agricultural expert at the consulting firm Cewei Management Consulting, in the past, Western consumers often associated 'Made in China' with low prices and poor quality. However, over the past decade, more and more Chinese brands have started to offer high-quality products at more competitive prices.
In addition to giblets, Chinese companies have also seen rapid development in the fields of caviar and truffles, which are considered high-end foods. Data from the International Trade Center (ITC) shows that Chinese companies accounted for approximately 40% of global caviar exports last year, and Chinese truffle exports have increased by more than three times since 2022.
The competitiveness of Chinese foie gras has begun to impact overseas markets. In Macau, the price of Chinese foie gras is about $17 per pound, while that of Spanish products is around $28 per pound. Local importers are forced to reduce prices in order to compete. The European Union has also strengthened the labeling regulations for foie gras this year, restricting foreign producers from using terms that could easily lead consumers to think of traditional French production areas.
A report released by the Alibaba Research Institute in 2024 shows that China has seen the emergence of over a hundred new high-end domestic food and beverage brands. Their story is similar: starting with expensive imported ingredients, these companies increase production through technological upgrades, reduced labor costs, and logistics optimization, and then gradually lower their product prices.
