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The vote of the German consumers is clear: origin and animal welfare are most important to consumers when it comes to buying poultry meat.
By far even.
This is shown by a current survey by opinion and market researchers from Civey on behalf of the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry (ZDG), which WELT is exclusively available to.
A good 50 percent of the 10,000 respondents each cite these two arguments as a guideline when shopping for chicken, turkey, goose and the like. According to the study, a further 38 percent look at an organic label.
The price, on the other hand, is only decisive for 22.7 percent of consumers.
And what's more: a good 70 percent of the participants are even willing to pay an animal welfare surcharge of 40 cents per kilogram of meat.
It could hardly have gone better for the domestic poultry producers.
"This is an important sign of appreciation and recognition," says ZDG President Friedrich-Otto Ripke.
After all, that is exactly what the industry can offer, says the former CDU State Secretary, referring to the high level of self-sufficiency and animal welfare standards in Germany, which, according to Ripke, are unparalleled anywhere in the world.
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Now he wants to use the results of the “poultry referendum” so named by the industry to make politics.
“Poultry Future - Made in Germany” is the name of the initiative with which the industry wants to initiate a “broad dialogue” on how Germany should and must shape its poultry industry in the coming years and decades.
So-called future forums are planned for May with, for example, politicians, consumers, retailers and scientists.
Above all, however, the researchers are likely to have unpleasant questions.
Because the wishes of consumers expressed in the study are one thing.
On the other hand, everyday life in the supermarkets is often different.
This is shown, for example, by Ulrich Enneking's research.
The professor for agricultural marketing at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences has been researching for years how sensitively consumers react to price changes.
And the result is always the same and clear: When it comes to the wallet, animal welfare has to cut back.
In Enneking's latest practical test, for example, just 16 percent of around 18,000 buyers in 18 supermarkets of the Edeka regional company Minden-Hanover showed an increased willingness to buy for better housing conditions.
That is extremely far from the 70 percent who indicated their willingness to pay in the survey.
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Researchers call the citizen-consumer gap the discrepancy between the answers in surveys and actual shopping behavior.
And Ripke knows this problem too.
“That's why we need a state animal welfare bonus,” the industry representative demands.
After all, it must remain possible for the majority of consumers to be able to afford meat.
The industry is currently calculating how high this subsidy should be for poultry producers.
"We will then show that very transparently," announces Ripke.
The corresponding amount will certainly be significantly lower than the 40 cents per kilogram that the so-called Borchert Commission for pork is considering to finance the conversion of livestock farming in Germany and pay more animal welfare in the stables.
On the one hand, the rearing of poultry is fundamentally cheaper than, for example, pigs or cattle.
“On the other hand, we are already very far in animal welfare,” says Ripke, referring to a significantly reduced stocking density in the stalls, the renouncement of the beak shortening of laying hens and the decided ban on the killing of chicks.
However, the poultry industry does not want to rest on these advances.
“We can and will do more,” promises Ripke.
After all, that is what consumers want.
In addition to financial help, the ZDG President also calls for further political assistance, for example with building law and emissions law.
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“In order to improve animal husbandry even further, stables have to be converted.
However, if a stable is changed, the operating permit expires.
So a new permit is needed.
But that doesn't exactly work smoothly, ”denounces Ripke.
And that is expressed diplomatically.
"So higher standards depend to a large extent on politics and administration." Otherwise, the risk of court inheritance increases and with it the tendency towards imports.
Because new buildings have been practically impossible for years.
It is precisely in this situation that the relationship between the meat industry and politics is tense anyway.
The reason for this is the Labor Safety Control Act of Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), which since the beginning of the year has banned work contracts and temporary work in slaughterhouses and cutting plants.
There is still an exceptional case for meat processors alone: At seasonal peaks, for example for the production of grilled meat and sausages, there is a three-year transition period for temporary work.
But companies could now use them to set up branches abroad.
"Then the meat will in future be driven across the border by truck, processed there and then brought back to be delivered to retailers in this country," fears Ripke, who speaks of "climate madness" in this context.
Critics immediately think of the comparison with crabs that are fished on the German coast and then transported to and from North Africa for processing.
Heike Harstick has similar fears as poultry representative Ripke.
The general manager of the Meat Industry Association (VDF) does not believe that a number of processors are simply relocating their production abroad.
Corporations such as Tönnies, Vion or Danish Crown are, in their opinion, likely to use existing plants outside Germany significantly more.
"In addition, some suppliers could be forced to switch to convenience stores in neighboring countries and have their meat processed there into finished grilled goods in order to be able to serve their customers in Germany," predicts Harstick.
Meanwhile, Harstick confirms the paradox of survey results on actual consumer purchasing decisions, including pork and beef.
“In the end, unfortunately, it's always the price that counts,” says Harstick.
As before, there is only a limited group of buyers who can and really want to pay appropriate surcharges.
It is not without reason that dealers in their meat departments have the highest depreciation for organic meat.
This fits an assessment by market researcher Nielsen from last year.
“Consumers in Germany have been consistently price-sensitive for years.
The pocket calculator is always present in the head. ”This also fits a question from the ZDG survey.
Because even if there is a signal that a surcharge for more animal welfare is okay for the majority - at least 53 percent warn at the same time that meat prices will rise so sharply due to regulation that only part of society can afford meat.
Corona is causing the organic industry to boom
That's a nice side effect of Corona: According to a study by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, many more people buy mostly organic food and cook more at home than before the crisis.
Source: WELT / Erdmann Hummel