Growth driver for the pet industry

The triumphant advance of the cat continues, and its popularity as a pet is growing in nearly every corner of the globe. Sales of cat food are also increasing in many countries in line with this trend.Cat populationThe European Pet Food Industry Federation, Fediaf, estimated the number of cats in Europe at 84.4 million in 2010. Russia comes top with 18 million, followed by France (10.9 mio), Germany (8.2 mio) and the UK (8 mio). The number of cats in Europe is thus significantly higher than the dog population, which was estimated at 73.5 million in 2010.In the USA also, cats outnumber dogs, according to the APPA industry association. The total number of cats was put at 86.4 million for 2011, while the number of dogs lagged behind somewhat at 78.2 million. This puts the USA at the top of the world rankings when it comes to the cat population. China, Brazil and Japan also boast significant numbers of cats.Due to the recession, however, the cat population in the USA declined slightly in 2009 and 2010, according to the market research institute Euromonitor International. The figure only rose again last year when the economic recovery got under way. Euromonitor International is predicting that the cat population in the USA will continue to grow in the next few years.Sales trendThe growing number of felines also has an impact on the sales trend for cat food. Dry food dominates the cat food market in the USA, with the volume of sales increasing slightly to € 2.769 billion in 2011 compared with the previous year (2010: € 2.706 bn). The volume of sales of wet food also increased slightly to € 1.809 billion (2010: € 1.771 bn).Experts at the market research firm SymphonyIRI have calculated that cat food accounts for half of all sales in the pet sector in Europe. Sales in 2011 increased by 2.2 per cent over the previous year, attaining a volume of € 3.9 billion. This was better than the trend for the market as a whole, which only managed a growth rate of 1.6 per cent last year. Cat food continues to be a growth driver in Europe, therefore. Above all, the sub-segment covering wet cat food single-serve products has developed very satisfactorily, according to information from SymphonyIRI. Dry cat food sales were also up, although to a lesser extent than cat single-serve products.The market data show, however, that the market has developed very differently in the individual countries. In France, where the overall cat food market grew by 3.6 per cent in 2011 and thus much…