Meat consumption saw a slight increase in Austria in 2024

Austrians consumed slightly more meat in 2024 than in the previous year, new data from Statistics Austria has shown.

According to the data, Austrians consumed 0.4 kg more meat last year, bringing per capita meat consumption to 58.0 kg, with slightly less pork (-0.1 kg, to 32.6 kg) and more poultry (+0.5 kg to 13.8 kg) consumed.

Beef and veal consumption remained unchanged, at 9.9 kg per capita.

Cheese consumption, including processed varieties, reached 26.5 kg per capita, up 2.4 kg on the previous year.

Farm production

Austrian farms produced 5.1 million tonnes of animal-based products in 2024, 1% higher than the previous year, Statistics Austria noted.

Milk production from cows, sheep, and goats reached 4.1 million tonnes, again a 1% increase on the previous year, while egg production decreased by one percent to 2.3 billion units, and fish production remained steady at 5,700 tonnes.

Meat production, measured in carcass weight, was 860,100 tonnes last year, 1% higher than the previous year, it added.

Austria imported some 402,400 tonnes of meat last year, an increase of 7%, in order to meet domestic demand.

Increased foreign trade

‘Compared to 2023, the volume of agricultural foreign trade (both plant and animal products) further increased from €34.0 billion to €35.8 billion,’ Statistics Austria said in a statement. ‘The volume of agricultural foreign trade corresponds to an 9% share of the total foreign trade volume, which amounted to a total of €380.2 billion in 2024.

‘The value of agricultural imports rose from €17.4 billion to €18.9 billion, that of exports from €16.7 billion to €16.9 billion’.

Domestic agriculture covered 177% of Austria’s demand for drinking milk, 198% for other fluid milk products, 109% for cheese including processed cheese, 107% for meat, 87% for eggs, 64% for butter and 8% for fish, according to the data.

The majority of trade was undertaken with other European Union member states, which accounted for 81% of imports and 79% of exports. Read more here.