Fast Food: Price crisis at Döner and Burger – Beef is becoming scarce

A scarcer range of beef is striking in Germany’s fast food industry: Both kebab and Hamburgers have become much more expensive in the past three years. The prices for calf and beef shoot up because the demand for slaughter animals is higher than the offer.

According to data from the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, the producer prices have increased by around 15 to 20 percent this year alone for cow and young bull meat. “It is a very crazy situation,” says Albert Hortmann-Scholten, market expert of the chamber. Many operating tasks in cattle husbandry and blue -tongue disease have therefore greatly reduced the offer.

Calf painted from the menu

The current wave of inflation at beef used in late summer, the episodes are noticeable in the Fast Food industry: in Munich, several hosts have painted the veal kebab from the menu. “Too expensive,” says a kebab owner who does not want to read his name in the newspaper. “I would have to ask for the ten euros, nobody pays that.” So there are only chicken and turkey.

Also affected the burger industry

Also noteworthy is the development of the price recommendations of the standard hamburg at McDonald’s: at the beginning of 2022 1.29 euros, 1.99 euros a year ago, today 2.29 euros. This is an increase of almost 80 percent within three years. Asked about the reasons, the company does not want to give a specific answer: “We ask for your understanding that we cannot express ourselves in detail to the exact composition of our recommendation as well as the specific factors that require adaptation.”

In larger burgers such as the Big Mac, the inflation has been considerably lower since 2022, but still above average compared to general inflation. A spokesman for the German McDonald’s headquarters in Munich emphasizes that the recommendations for the operators of the franchise restaurants are without obligation.

Doner soon over ten euros?

The kebab manufacturers are alerted: “Experts forecast that the final price for kebab-as a representative product of meat processing-will reach the 10-euro border in the near future and will exceed the Sogan KOC, spokesman for the Doner producer in the Baden-Württemberg Remchingen in the medium term.

The cause of the price increases in gastronomy is not only beef, since energy and other raw materials have also become more expensive. But meat makes a not inconsiderable part of the costs.

Höfesterben can be felt in the wallet

If you order kebab or hamburger these days, you get to feel the structural change in agriculture on your own wallet. In 2014, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office, there were still 12.7 million cattle in Germany, in 2024 there were still 10.5 million, a minus of a good 17 percent. The range of slaughter animals is currently scarce.

But why do so many farmers give up cattle keeping? “This is the difficult economic situation,” says Hortmann-Scholten. The prices are currently high, but the agricultural market has always been suffering from violent price fluctuations. Many farmers no longer wanted to participate, says the specialist. “The animal welfare problem does the rest.” The shortage of workers also plays a role. “Some companies stop in East Germany because they no longer find workers. Then entire herds of cattle are repelled.”

Bureaucracy annoyed many farmers

The bureaucracy is also a source of anger in agriculture: “Every cattle needs two identical ear markers,” says Hortmann-Scholten. “If a young cattle gets stuck in the fence with one ear and loses an ear mark, you have to reorder it. If a missing ear brand is noticeable during a check by an agricultural office, this is a cross compliance and can lead to a reduction in the premiums.”

The Association of Doner Producers is responsible for climate protection policy: In recent years, EU policy to reduce CO₂ emissions has not only led to far-reaching changes in animal husbandry in Germany, but also in important meat production countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Poland. “In combination with a consistently high demand, the resulting shortage of the offer leads to a steady price pressure in the meat sector,” says spokesman Koc.

Many farmers have long said that they are neither animal welfare nor climate protection opponents. However, the producer prices for both milk and meat were so low for years that a number of companies lacked the necessary money for the construction of animal -friendly stables and other improvements. So it becomes clear again that neither climate protection nor animal welfare are available for zero tariff.