Growth slows in Germany.

The two market segments of pet food and accessories exhibited similar growth rates in 2010. The market for pet food surpassed the figures for 2009 by 0.8 per cent at €2.777 bn, while sales of requisites and accessories were up by 0.7 per cent over the previous year to €930 mio. The market for cat food showed the strongest growth in 2010 and was the biggest single segment with sales of €1.435 mio (+2.9 per cent). Here treats and cat milk recorded the best results, exceeding the good results of the previous year (+6.5 per cent) once again by 8.3 per cent at €183 mio. Modest growth of 0.1 per cent was recorded in the dog food market with sales of €1.102 bn in 2010. The segment thus continued to develop positively, even if only slightly. Treats were likewise the clear winners in the dog food market in 2010, exhibiting growth of 3.4 per cent to €332 mio. Sales in the segments covering small animal food (€127 mio, -4.5 per cent; 2009: +0.8 per cent), caged bird food (€53 mio, -7.0 per cent; 2009: -3.4 per cent) and fish food (€60 mio, -11.6 per cent; 2009: -2.9 per cent) declined in 2010, however. The market for pet requisites grew by 0.7 per cent in 2010 compared with the previous year, with total sales of €930 mio. Growth in the previous year was 0.2 per cent. For the first time, the market for articles for dogs (€155 mio, +3.3 per cent) grew faster than the market for cat requisites (€184 mio, +2.8 per cent). These were followed by cat litter (+1.7 per cent to €241 mio) and products for small animals (+0.9 per cent to €106 mio). The market for fish-keeping products suffered a decline, although this was less pronounced than in the previous year. This fell by 3.9 per cent to €201 mio, compared with a decline in sales of 5 per cent in 2009. There was no positive development in the market for bird products either (€43 mio, -2.3 per cent). With sales of €755 mio and a share of sales of 81 per cent, the speciality trade continues to be the most important sales channel for pet requisites. Food retailers (including drugstores and discount stores) remain the principal sales channel for pet convenience food, with sales of €1.821 mio and a share of 66 per cent of sales. Population trend In 2010 German households were home to 22.3 mio dogs, cats and other pets (not including fish and reptiles). The population thus remained largely stable, experiencing a slight decline of 1.3 per cent. Roughly a third of all German households also have one or more pets. The number of cats…