executive snapshot

Belgium’s foie‑gras industry is small but symbolically important. Production began in the 1980s and peaked at 48 t in 1995[6]; it has since declined to around 25 t in 2012[3] and 13 t in 2024[2]. The sector produces less than 1 % of global foie gras but Belgians are enthusiastic consumers, making Belgium the second‑largest consumer per capita in Europe and a significant importer[2]. Production is confined to Wallonia, where about seven family‑run farms and co‑operatives use conventional force‑feeding. Belgium exports chilled fatty livers valued at US$4.7 million in 2023[7] but still imports more raw livers than it produces, relying on large supplies from Hungary and France[8]. Politically, the industry is increasingly fragile. Brussels banned force‑feeding in 2017 and Flanders followed with a decree ending all force‑feeding and fur‑farming by December 2023[9]. Wallonia’s government remains supportive, yet animal‑welfare activists (notably GAIA) have mobilised public petitions and litigation. In December 2023 GAIA sued the Walloon Region for failing to ban force‑feeding, arguing that it violates EU directives and the region’s own animal‑welfare code[10][11]. The industry therefore operates under constant legal pressure and may shrink further if Wallonia enacts a ban.

Bulgaria’s foie gras sector is sizeable relative to its economy but small in absolute terms. The European federation Euro Foie Gras reported that Bulgaria produced 1,860 tonnes of duck foie gras in 2024, making it Europe’s second‑largest producer behind France[1]. The industry emerged under state planning in the 1960s, expanded rapidly after Bulgaria’s transition to a market economy, and by the 2000s employed around 5,000 workers[2]. Today it remains export‑driven: in 2019 activists noted that almost all production is exported to France and that there is no domestic tradition of foie gras consumption[3]. A Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce report estimated that Bulgaria accounted for 36.7 % of world duck‑liver exports and about US $150 million in duck‑liver and duck‑meat exports in 2022[4][5]. Politically the sector enjoys some protection: Bulgaria is one of five EU countries that allow force‑feeding, and the government has resisted EU‑level bans. The Bulgarian Poultry Breeders Association argued in 2012 that geese and ducks were no longer kept in cages and predicted that European Parliament proposals for a ban would be cancelled[2]. However, opposition has grown, and a 2019 CAAI petition contended that Bulgaria ranked third worldwide in fatty‑liver production and that the practice is cruel and unnecessary[3]. The industry is vulnerable to disease (avian influenza) and to the loss of French demand; between 2019 and 2024, exports of fresh/chilled fatty livers fell from 804 t to 283 t[6][7].

Canada’s foie gras industry is minuscule by global standards. It is concentrated in the province of Quebec, which accounts for 100 % of Canada’s force‑fed duck production[1] and more than 40 % of national Pekin duck output[1]. By the late 2000s the industry produced roughly 8,500 duck livers per week—about two tonnes of foie gras—up from only a few hundred a decade earlier[4]. Today there may be about 20 farms producing foie gras[5]. Three vertically integrated companies—Rougié (La Ferme Palmex), Aux Champs d’Élisé and, until its 2016 bankruptcy, Élevages Périgord—dominate output[6]. Small artisanal farms (La Ferme Basque, Ducs de Montrichard etc.) make up a niche segment[7]. Politically and economically, the industry is fragile. Quebec producers have benefited from Canada’s permissive laws and from federal and provincial research grants, such as a 2019 Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada grant of CA$123,000 to develop better feed strategies for foie gras[8]. However, they face reputational challenges from animal‑welfare campaigns, disease threats and dependence on export markets. The market is mostly export‑driven: in 2017 Canada exported 2,181 tonnes of duck meat, and about 33 % of that was foie gras (frozen or fresh)[9]. The United States absorbs most exports—particularly through gourmet distributors—while domestic consumption is small and seasonal. Canada plays a niche role in the global supply chain, supplying high‑end duck livers to North American chefs when French supply is restricted and competing with two U.S. producers.[6]

China has transformed from a marginal player into one of the world’s largest foie gras producers. Counties such as Linqu (Shandong) and Huoqiu (Anhui) raise more than 5 million Landes geese each year and produce over 5,000 tonnes of foie gras[6][7]. By 2025, analysts estimated that Chinese production exceeded 7,000 tonnes annually, representing about 30 % of global supply[2]. Government‑supported industrial clusters, cheap labour and loose animal‑welfare rules have made Chinese foie gras cheaper than European products[8]. Politically, the industry enjoys strong local support and is framed as a rural‑revitalisation success. There is no national law prohibiting force‑feeding, and county governments actively court foreign buyers[9][10]. However, producers are vulnerable to export regulations imposed by Europe and animal‑welfare campaigns. The domestic market absorbs a large share of output, but companies increasingly export fresh and canned foie gras to Japan, the EU, Southeast Asia and the Middle East[11][8]. China serves as a low‑cost exporter and a rapidly growing domestic market. French‑style producers see China as a potential new consumer base, while Chinese producers threaten established European suppliers with cheaper products[8]. The industry’s success depends on maintaining access to export markets and controlling disease outbreaks.

China has transformed from a marginal player into one of the world’s largest foie gras producers. Counties such as Linqu (Shandong) and Huoqiu (Anhui) raise more than 5 million Landes geese each year and produce over 5,000 tonnes of foie gras[6][7]. By 2025, analysts estimated that Chinese production exceeded 7,000 tonnes annually, representing about 30 % of global supply[2]. Government‑supported industrial clusters, cheap labour and loose animal‑welfare rules have made Chinese foie gras cheaper than European products[8]. Politically, the industry enjoys strong local support and is framed as a rural‑revitalisation success. There is no national law prohibiting force‑feeding, and county governments actively court foreign buyers[9][10]. However, producers are vulnerable to export regulations imposed by Europe and animal‑welfare campaigns. The domestic market absorbs a large share of output, but companies increasingly export fresh and canned foie gras to Japan, the EU, Southeast Asia and the Middle East[11][8]. China serves as a low‑cost exporter and a rapidly growing domestic market. French‑style producers see China as a potential new consumer base, while Chinese producers threaten established European suppliers with cheaper products[8]. The industry’s success depends on maintaining access to export markets and controlling disease outbreaks.

Foie gras is embedded in French culinary identity. A 2006 law declares it part of the nation’s cultural and gastronomic heritage and defines it as the liver of a duck or goose “specially fattened by gavage”[6]. France produces roughly 60–70 % of global foie gras[2] and consumes most of it domestically; per‑capita consumption was about 170 g in 2021[7] but fell to ~120 g in 2022 amid reduced supply[8]. Exports, chiefly to Spain, Belgium and Switzerland, represent around one‑third of output[9]. The sector is politically influential, dominated by large agricultural cooperatives that integrate feed, breeding, slaughter and marketing. Nevertheless, repeated avian‑influenza crises, rising costs and growing welfare criticism make the industry more fragile than its cultural status suggests.

Hungary is the world’s dominant producer of goose foie gras and a secondary but significant producer of duck foie gras. Reports vary because output is privately reported, but the industry association Euro Foie Gras estimated that in 2024 Hungarian producers made about 788 tonnes of goose liver and 1 632 tonnes of duck liver[1]. Hungarian media and industry sources cite slightly higher figures—about 2 000 tonnes of goose liver per year and roughly 3 000 tonnes of duck liver[2][3]—but all agree that around 80 % of this foie gras is exported[4]. Hungary’s foie gras industry is politically protected. The government and the poultry lobby successfully framed foie gras as a national heritage product; in 2012 fattened goose liver was registered as a “Hungaricum”, giving it cultural status and allowing state aid for promotion[5]. Production is dominated by a handful of vertically integrated companies that contract with small farmers. Export markets, mainly France and Belgium, provide most revenue; thus, the industry is economically fragile and vulnerable to trade bans, avian‑influenza outbreaks and changing consumer attitudes.

Spain’s foie gras industry is small compared with France but is nevertheless the fourth largest producer in Europe and the second biggest consumer worldwide[1]. Production peaked at just over 600 tonnes in 2019[8], declined during the COVID‑19 pandemic and avian‑influenza restrictions, and stabilised around 525 tonnes in 2023[1]. About 10 % of this output is exported to around 40 countries, generating €4.1 million in export revenue in 2023[2]. The domestic market—restaurants and supermarkets—absorbs most production, with sales of €55.5 million in 2023[2]. Spain also imports significant quantities of foie gras from France to satisfy consumption estimated at over 3 300 tonnes[3]. Politically the industry has long enjoyed protection as part of rural development policy. However, undercover investigations and animal‑welfare campaigns have increased pressure on legislators. In November 2025 a non‑binding parliamentary motion (PNL) instructed the government to analyse the impacts of force‑feeding and consider reforms[7]. The motion indicates political fragility; yet producers remain influential because the sector supplies income to rural areas in Castile‑León, Navarre, Basque Country, Catalonia and Aragón[1].

Foie gras is a niche luxury product in the United States. The industry is tiny relative to mainstream poultry, yet it is highly profitable because of high retail prices and the sale of by‑products such as magret duck breast. Scale: New York produced about 85 % of U.S. foie gras in 2003; national sales were roughly US$17.5 million and the industry employed about 230 people[2]. Today there are only three commercial farms—Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm in the Catskills of New York and a small artisanal operation, Au Bon Canard, in Minnesota. Together, Hudson Valley and La Belle raise and slaughter ≈350 000 ducks annually[3] and sell livers worth ≈US$15 million, while also marketing duck breasts, fat and by‑products. Au Bon Canard raises small outdoor flocks and sells directly to restaurants[4]. Political fragility: Production is legal in only a few states. California banned the sale of foie gras from force‑fed birds in 2004 (effective July 2012), and the ban was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit[5][6]. New York City attempted a sales ban in 2019 but lost in state court[7]. Brookline, Massachusetts prohibited sales in 2025. Activists continue to press for bans; the industry relies on right‑to‑farm protections and the support of restaurateurs and rural legislators. Market orientation: U.S. producers depend overwhelmingly on domestic chefs and retailers. Export volumes of fresh/chilled fatty livers have been around 20 000 kg per year, mainly to Caribbean islands[8], while the U.S. imports much larger quantities of processed foie gras products (≈400 000 kg in 2022)[9]. Role in global supply: The United States is a minor producer; it supplies some of its own market but imports most processed foie gras. France is the dominant global source.