The flow diagram presenting the results for this supply chain, produced as part of the SOCLE project, offers a complete view of how material circulates through the chain, from supplies to final outlets. It is a Sankey-type representation: the thickness of the arrows is proportional to the quantities (in kilotonnes, kt), making it possible to grasp at a glance the relative weight of each segment.
This diagram aims to represent the supply chain as a whole at the most detailed level possible. Although some data could be mobilised at a finer level of detail than the one shown, it did not make it possible to guarantee complete data all along the chain: such data is therefore shown in aggregated form on the diagram.
The diagram represents all the material flows within the horse meat supply chain in France, from supply sources to the various final uses, for the 3 years studied in the SOCLE project: 2015, 2019 and 2023 (select the desired year in the timeline below the diagram).
Supplies combine meat imports and the contribution of the national herd. These flows feed the fresh meat market directly or pass through the slaughtering and cutting stages. The intermediate market highlights the slaughtering and cutting operations and the separation between meat intended for human consumption and slaughter co-products. Part of these co-products undergoes specific treatments (thermal or food-grade) before recovery, while other flows correspond to losses or to process-related water. The outlets include human food (butchers, retail), petfood-type animal feed, non-food or industrial uses of certain co-products, as well as exports.
The relative thickness of the flows highlights the dominant place of fresh meat in the chain, the secondary but structuring role of co-products, and the strong international openness of the system.
