If you’re traveling to France in the near future and have dreams of picking apart the delicate, flaky layers of authentic croissant, be warned that these beloved pastries may be in short supply when you get there. Why? Apparently because people are eating more butter.
Reuters reports that the increased consumer demand for butter — coupled with a shortage in milk production — in France has resulted in butter prices doubling in just the past year.
Butter is an essential ingredient in making a croissant, but some bakeries have decided to cut their butter orders rather than pay the higher price. As a result, there are fewer croissants and other pastries being made in France right now, and the ones that are available may be more expensive.
“Because the year-end holidays are approaching, with Christmas preparations and particularly the ‘Galette des Rois’ cake which needs a lot of butter, if there is not a significant decline, we will be forced to pass on the price rise,” one Paris baker told Reuters.
And in French supermarkets, signs are popping up in barren butter cases, explaining that there is a shortage for certain brands, Reuters notes.
The shortage is due to falling milk production as well as an increasing demand for butter around the world as consumers turn their noses up at spreads like margarine.
But despite the high demand for butter, dairy farmers in France claim they’re not seeing the benefits because they’re often paid based on cheaper raw milk and powder prices, Reuters notes, and prices haven’t been adjusted amid the butter shortfall.
To that end, although Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert reportedly downplayed the idea of dire shortages this week, he did tell parliament that retailers and suppliers should agree on price adjustments.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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