ARTICLE Alternative Proteins Magazine April 2025 63 cannot be fully met by conventional ingredients. Indeed, the global dairy and meat sectors face increasing production challenges, from sustainability pressure to lifting production costs, international trade issues, disease outbreaks, etc. In 2024, meat production (chicken, pork, beef, and sheep) exceeded 350 million tonnes in carcass weight equivalent. Gira forecasts a continuous growth, around 1.2% annually through 2029, with numerous uncertainties linked to unstable politics and economics, impact of inflation over consumer demand and ongoing animal health crises. In any case, this expected growth represents an additional volume of only 3-4 mio tons of proteins over the 23 mio needed! As far as the dairy sector is concerned, milk supply reached more than 610 billion liters in 2024 and should lift by 1.6% per year by 2029. In some region, in Europe particularly, milk supply growth is expected to remain limited due to strict environmental measures and low attractivity of dairy farming in some European countries. Globally, by 2050, we estimate that the dairy sector will be able to bring 2.4 mio tons more of protein in the market, thus still far less than 23 mio tons required… NOT ONLY A QUESTION OF QUANTITY The global demand for proteins is not only a question of filling basic physiological needs. The market for functional foods that are rich in protein—targeting sports performance, weight management, and healthy aging—is expanding quickly, driven by growing consumer awareness around health and nutrition at every stage of life. Furthermore, the recent popularity of GLP-1 treatments for weight loss has emerged as a new factor boosting the demand for high-protein foods and supplements. Dairy processors have taken full advantage of this trend with the development of high added-value proteins like whey and milk protein concentrates and isolates, increasingly used in nutritional and functional foods such as high-protein supplements, beverages and bars. This phenomenon happens to 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Million t cwe 106 110 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Source: Gira 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024e 2025f 2029f 14 64 65 65 64 66 68 68 67 69 70 70 72 72 75 14 15 15 15 16 16 16 17 17 18 18 18 19 113 113 115 116 116 106 94 110 115 117 118 119 118 Poultry meat 2029f/2024e % changes (CAGR) +2.3% -0.0% +1.4% +0.9% Pork Sheep & goat meat Beef & Veal 111 115 118 122 124 132 135 134 136 138 141 144 156 +2.9% +1.7% +1.0% +2.2% +1.9% -0.3% -2.8% +5.3% +2.9% +2.5% +1.7% +1.1% +1.2% Figure 1. Worldwide meat production volume is expected to lift by 1.2% per year between 2024 and 2029 (Gira Meat Club - December 2024)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==