Increasing dog population is the main growth driver

53 per cent of Belgians own a pet and this figure is up sharply from 10 per cent in 2018. This is the finding of a survey by the Belgian trade federation Comeos. In Belgium, the total turnover on pet food and related categories such as accessories, toys, grooming, food supplements and medicines is estimated at around 3.5 bn euros. This market has grown by almost 11 per cent per year over the past four years. This was revealed in a survey of 2 500 Belgians conducted by Shopperware on behalf of Comeos.

The number of dog owners in particular has increased significantly in recent years, according to the trade federation. Their number is estimated at 1.6 mio, while sales of dog food in Belgium amount to 731 mio euros. It is estimated that the growth in the number of dogs alone has generated 62 mio euros of additional expenditure on dog food.

A slightly different picture emerges from the trend in the number of cats. This has decreased by about 3 per cent to 2.3 mio. Comeos also notes that almost 40 per cent of cats are not yet microchipped.