Next fall, it could be more difficult to find butter on supermarket shelves due to the war in Ukraine, which is particularly weakening the production of industrialists, forced to replace certain oils with butter and causing an increase in demand. world.
After sunflower oil and mustard, butter could be scarce on supermarket shelves at the end of the year. The alert was given by Dominique Schelcher, the president of the supermarket chain, Système U. Invited to FranceInfo on June 15, he said he was monitoring ” closely “ this staple food. “Our suppliers are alerting me to the availability of butter from autumn”said the boss of the stores U.
Why could the butter be missing?
This possible shortage is due to various factors, starting with the drop in milk production in France. ” We produce less milk each year in France, so there is less fat “, explained Dominique Schelcher. In twenty years, the number of dairy farmers has been halved in the territory, from 120,000 to less than 51,000 in 2020, according to the latest statistics from the National Interprofessional Center for the Dairy Economy (Cniel). A situation that could get even worse with the inflation of production costs and episodes of drought.
Gold, ” the international market is very buoyant with many purchases of butter abroad”, adds the CEO of System U. This is particularly the case of China, which greatly increased its imports of dairy products last year. Between January and October 2021, the country imported an additional 20,000 tonnes of butter compared to the same period in 2020, an increase of 21%, according to data from the Livestock Institute. And the war in Ukraine has aggravated the phenomenon, the shortage of sunflower oil forcing many manufacturers to turn to other fats, such as butter.
What food can I substitute for butter?
If, next fall, the butter runs out on the shelves, don’t panic! It is possible to replace it with other products.
For your morning sandwiches, margarine is a good alternative, provided you choose one made from rapeseed, olive or linseed oil and forget those that contain palm oil or hydrogenated fats”.
For cooking your food, you have the choice between oil, margarine and goose fat.
Finally, for your cakes, there is no shortage of substitute products! Butter can easily be replaced with oil, fromage blanc, ricotta (which has a neutral taste), mashed almonds, apple sauce and even…vegetables! You can use zucchini, beets, carrots or avocado in your desserts, without changing the taste.
