Food & Drinks

France Is Running Out of Butter for Its Croissants

  • Biggest per-capita butter consumer struggles with shortages
  • As butter prices soar, producers are chasing better markets

Confused About What to Eat? You're Not Alone

France’s much-loved croissant au beurre has run up against the forces of global markets.

Finding butter for the breakfast staple has become a challenge across France. Soaring global demand and falling supplies have boosted butter prices, and with French supermarkets unwilling to pay more for the dairy product, producers are taking their wares across the border. That has left the French, the world’s biggest per-capita consumers of butter, short of a key ingredient for their sauces and tarts.