China's rising foie gras industry has France looking over its shoulder

"At the moment, we are not worried that China is going to topple France as the world's leading foie gras producer," said Fabien Chevalier, chairman of the French foie gras industry group CIFOG.

Chevalier told RFI he was nevertheless surprised by the speed of China's expansion over the last two years.

"We think the Chinese produced around 12,000 tonnes of foie gras in 2024 and it increased in 2025. Knowing that the French production was around 15,000 tonnes in 2025, the Chinese output is quite significant," he said.

A mix of government subsidies and large-scale farming has helped fuel that growth. But China's foie gras industry has developed very differently from France's, from the birds it raises to the products it sells.

Foie gras alternatives on the rise in France for those fed up with force-feeding

Different products

Unlike producers in France and the rest of Europe, who mostly use ducks, Chinese producers mainly breed geese.

"That's really surprising because it is much more difficult to make foie gras from geese than from ducks," Chevalier told RFI.

Chinese producers mostly use Landes geese, native to southwestern France, which were introduced to Linqu county in 1988. The birds have adapted well to the local climate, which shares the same latitude as the Landes.

Most Chinese foie gras is produced for the domestic market of more than a billion potential consumers, with very little exported. Restaurant owner Song Huailan eats foie gras hotpot in Huoqiu county, Anhui province, China.

Chinese producers have also developed a wide range of foie gras products, Chevalier said.

"You can find products made from foie gras which are destined for students, sold as a boost for brain power, or marketed to elderly people as a way to enhance cognitive performance," he added.

Goose livers in China can weigh up to two kilos. In France, where most foie gras comes from ducks, goose livers usually weigh around 700 grams and duck livers around 500 grams.

"We recently saw pictures of a Chinese foie gras producer holding a liver, nearly three kilos.

Such big size suits the end products they make from foie gras which uses emulsion, that is the foie gras is beaten up like a mayonnaise and is the basis for mousses, creams and other products.

"In France, we do not work like this at all. The French foie gras is best consumed whole, what we call 'foie gras entier'. That requires much smaller duck and goose livers," Chevalier said.

French farmer battles to market 'natural' foie gras made without force-feeding

Exports

France exports 20 percent of its foie gras production, including to other European countries. Japan was its biggest export market before Tokyo imposed an embargo in 2023 because of avian flu vaccination.

France exported around 10 tonnes of foie gras to China in 2025. After a pause since 2021 because of bird flu, exports resumed last year. Before 2021, exports to China were three to four times higher.

Only two French producers – Lafitte and Rougié – are authorised to export foie gras to China. Chevalier, who also heads Lafitte, said it took eight years to meet China's legal requirements. "It was a very difficult process before France obtained authorisation to export foie gras in 2019."

Rougié invested in duck farms in China and began producing foie gras there in 2007 because it was unable to export to the country at the time. Its China-made foie gras is mainly supplied to restaurants. Chevalier said around 66 million people in China are able to eat in a good restaurant every day. France is the country of foie gras. It is a hallmark of French cuisine and strongly associated with its image.

Looking ahead

A recent Reuters report said less than five percent of Chinese foie gras production was exported in 2025, based on customs data and analysts' estimates.

Reuters said exports to Southeast Asia and Europe are expected this year. It quoted Min Wei, general manager of Jilin Zhengfang Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, China's biggest producer of duck foie gras, which makes 1,500 tonnes a year.

A 2024 report by People's Daily Online, China's state-controlled media, quoted Gao Yuanliang, head of Shandong Zunrun Shengluoje Food, as saying the company invested 210 million yuan in production facilities built to European standards.

Chevalier said he does not believe exports are China's main priority.

"For the time being, they sell extensively locally. Furthermore, the protocol they use for bird flu vaccination does not meet international standards that would allow exports."

French foie gras prices soar as bird flu gives festive season the shivers

He said he was not worried but remained watchful.
"From what I know of the Chinese, as I work with them, they could perfectly start focusing on exporting foie gras should they want to do so. After all, this is a major global powerhouse." Wu Deli from Changhao Biotechnology company, holding a frozen goose liver weighing 2.9 kg, at their farm in Huoqiu county, Anhui province, China.

Even so, Chevalier believes China's rise could benefit the industry.

"I am quite happy that such a big country like China is involved in making foie gras. There will be more of us to defend that product – bearing in mind that China and France make different end products out of foie gras, ours being destined for gastronomy," he said.

France has strict rules governing the quality of foie gras produced and sold in the country, including imports.

"France is the country of foie gras and this is not likely to change soon. It is a hallmark of French cuisine and strongly associated with our image. An American or an Asian tourist visiting Paris will want to visit the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées and eat foie gras," Chevalier said.