IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Hen Eggs – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The global chicken egg market continues to expand and is forecast to reach 138M tonnes by 2030 thanks to an increase in demand, driven by population growth. During the pandemic, sales to the HoReCa sector crashed, however, this was offset by heightened demand from the retail market. With a 50% global market share, China remains the absolute leader in egg consumption. The diminishing use of preventative antibiotics within livestock emerges as a market trend. This potentially causes the safer form of medication, immunotherapy, to become an attractive sector for investments.

Key Trends and Insights

The size of the global chicken egg market continues to climb due to heightened demand from growing populations, particularly in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. According to IndexBox, global production in 2020 surpassed 2019 levels by 2.7%, reaching 116M tonnes. Another factor strengthening consumption could be the use of eggs in the production of flu and COVID vaccines. These aspects are expected to continue impacting the demand in the midterm and heading into 2030, the global chicken egg market will reach 138M tonnes (IndexBox estimates).

In the global consumption of chicken eggs, China has a massive lead over all other countries. At 58.6M tonnes in 2020, Chinese consumption was almost 9 times higher than the US, which ranked second in production and consumption. China also is the first in the world for per capita consumption (40kg per year per person).

Demand for eggs in the HoReCa segment worldwide fell sharply during the pandemic. Producers quickly adapted to the changing conditions and diverted deliveries away from the foodservice industry and toward the retail sector to meet the rapidly growing demand from households. Another option is to offer pre-boiled and otherwise prepared eggs to those consumers who work remotely and thus cook and eat at home.

In the past few years, the use of antibiotics has been diminishing because of concerns that target bacteria will develop a resistance to them. The World Health Organization called on producers to cease using preventative medicines and strictly limit the use of specific antibiotics. Besides that, consumer behavior has changed with heightened attention to healthy eating habits, and in response, the use of antibiotics has been unwelcome. Immunotherapies are more and more often used in livestock and could potentially become a safer alternative to antibiotics. In the long-run, this trend could make immunotherapies an attractive sector for investment.

Bird infection outbreaks constitute the main hindrance for the market, as it leads to supply cuts and losses for producers. In the long-term, climate change and global warming will also negatively affect the market because warmer weather conditions decrease chickens’ egg production abilities and increase their susceptibility to disease.

Egg Production by Country

For the ninth consecutive year, the global market recorded growth in the production of chicken eggs, which increased by 2.7% to 116M tonnes in 2020. The total output volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.9% from 2012 to 2020. In value terms, chicken egg production stood at $291.4B in 2020 estimated in export prices.

The country with the largest volume of chicken egg production was China (59M tonnes), comprising approx. 51% of total volume. Moreover, chicken egg production in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest producer, the U.S. (6.8M tonnes), ninefold. India (6.1M tonnes) ranked third in terms of total production with a 5.3% share.

In China, chicken egg production increased at an average annual rate of +2.4% over the period from 2012-2020. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: the U.S. (+1.8% per year) and India (+5.8% per year).

Egg Exports by Country

In 2020, approx. 2M tonnes of chicken eggs were exported worldwide; approximately mirroring 2019 figures. In value terms, chicken egg exports shrank modestly to $3.5B in 2020.

In 2020, the Netherlands (409K tonnes), Turkey (281K tonnes), Poland (196K tonnes), the U.S. (145K tonnes), Germany (109K tonnes), Ukraine (107K tonnes), Spain (92K tonnes), Belgium (87K tonnes), China (75K tonnes) and Malaysia (74K tonnes) represented the major exporter of chicken eggs in the world, creating 78% of total export. The following exporters – Belarus (44K tonnes) and Russia (39K tonnes) – each amounted to a 4.1% share of total exports.

In value terms, the largest chicken egg supplying countries worldwide were the Netherlands ($734M), the U.S. ($427M) and Turkey ($298M), with a combined 42% share of global exports. These countries were followed by Poland, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Malaysia, China, Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, which together accounted for a further 36%.

The average chicken egg export price stood at $1,725 per tonne in 2020, stabilizing at the previous year’s level. Over the period under review, export price indicated a pronounced expansion from 2007 to 2020: its price increased at an average annual rate of +4.1% over the last thirteen-year period. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin; the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($2,945 per tonne), while Belarus ($727 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform