Butter melts away from French shelves as global demand soars

Paris

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.

"The issue is purely French and is related to the fact tha…