Pet industry gathers in Nuremberg with inflation and shortages in the spotlight

Pet professionals from around the world are meeting this week in the German city of Nuremberg for Interzoo 2022 during a very critical moment for production across the world.

Norbert Holthenrick, president of the German Pet Trade & Industry Association (ZZF), forecasted that raw materials for animal feed will become “more and more expensive” in the upcoming times due to the cost of transport.

Holthenrick acknowledged that the future of the current positive trend of the industry “is uncertain” due to the critical supply chain disruptions since the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.  

“We cannot, yet, predict how the current situation will affect the purchasing behavior of pet owners in the long term,” he concluded.  

Georg Müller, President of the German Industrial Association of Pet Care Producers (IVH), admitted that a “large” number of negative factors are coming together.

This includes the “severe” price increase of raw materials, such as beef fat. While in February, the average price was 145€/100kg, the forecast for June is it will jump to 160€/100 kg.

“This is having a huge impact on the production of our industry,” said Müller to journalists.

He added that the industry will need to adapt to what he called a “new cost level”, including a persisting price increase in the long term. “With these inflationary forces, we need to make sure we don’t lose customers.”