Spanish household beef consumption falls 3.33% as spending rises 9.7%

Households pay more for less beef

Spanish household beef consumption fell to 3.77 kilograms per person in 2025, a decline of 3.33% from the previous year. At the same time, annual spending increased 9.7% to €52.67 per person, according to 2025 Food Consumption Report data reported by AgroNews Castilla y León.

The opposing movements in volume and expenditure indicate that households paid substantially more for each kilogram purchased. Based on the reported totals, average annual spending was equivalent to about €13.97 per kilogram in 2025. The figures do not specify individual retail prices or cuts, but they show that higher expenditure was insufficient to prevent a contraction in demand.

Beef moved against the broader meat category. Total meat consumption increased 3.6% during the year, even as household beef purchases declined. For producers, processors and retailers, that divergence signals greater consumer resistance in beef than in the wider meat market.

Traditional butchers retain a large share

Supermarkets account for almost 50% of the fresh beef purchased by Spanish households. Although they remain the leading channel, their beef demand fell 2.25% in 2025 compared with the previous year. Traditional shops handled 34.5% of beef volume, far above their 10.6% share of overall food sales.

The strength of specialist retailers distinguishes beef from much of the grocery market. Butchers and other traditional outlets retain an important role in product selection and customer relationships, while supermarkets face weaker volumes despite their dominant position. Suppliers therefore remain exposed to developments in both large-format retail and a comparatively fragmented specialist channel.

Beef also retains a significant position outside the home. Consumption in restaurants and other food-service settings reached 2.25 kilograms per person in 2025, making beef the second-most-consumed meat outside the home after chicken. From 2019 to 2025, out-of-home veal consumption rose 0.5%, compared with a 1% increase for chicken, while pork fell 14.6% and lamb declined 28.3%.

Age, household type and region divide demand

Consumption varies sharply by age and household composition. People older than 65 consumed 5.90 kilograms per person annually, compared with 2.43 kilograms among consumers aged 35 to 49. Retired households recorded the highest level among the profiles assessed, at 6.27 kilograms per person, while couples with young children consumed only 1.89 kilograms.

This 4.38-kilogram gap means retired households consumed more than three times as much beef per person as households with young children. Higher consumption was also concentrated among high- and middle-income households and those where the person responsible for shopping was older than 50. The figures suggest that the industry’s strongest domestic customer base is older, while younger families are buying markedly smaller volumes.

Regional differences are similarly pronounced. The Basque Country led consumption at 5.62 kilograms per person, 1.85 kilograms above the national average, while Extremadura recorded the lowest level at 1.87 kilograms. Castilla y León, Galicia, Asturias, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid were also above the Spanish average, although the source did not provide a specific figure for Castilla y León. For beef suppliers, declining national volume therefore masks substantial differences in demand by sales channel, age group and region.