“The figures show that meat consumption in Sweden has increased and that it is higher than ever,” said Åsa Lannhard Öberg at the Board of Agriculture to Sveriges Radio’s (SR) Ekot news programme.

Consumption of beef and pork increased by 3 percent in 2010, the preliminary figures show, while chicken consumption was up by 5 percent.

The Swedish trend follows that seen across the EU, SR reported, partly due to the cheaper prices but also due to changes in how products are marketed.

New products with a more convenient presentation are given credit for the increasing demand.

While Swedes are eating more meat in general, more of it is imported from overseas with domestic producers facing pressure to compete.

“It is not positive when companies are forced out, that shows that they can’t live with the competition,” Lannhard Öberg said.

The impact of the economic cycle is reflected in the figures over the cuts of meat favoured by Swedish consumers.

During the recession that followed the finance crisis cheaper products such as isterband and falu sausage as well as blood pudding increased in popularity while fillet mignon and other choice cuts suffered, SR reported.