Despite Ranking only Fifth in Terms of Market Size, the Netherlands Leads European Chicken Egg Exports

Despite Ranking only Fifth in Terms of Market Size, the Netherlands Leads European Chicken Egg Exports

July 4th, 2020 IndexBox Leave a comment

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

In 2019, the EU chicken egg market decreased by -2.1% to $12.7B for the first time since 2016, thus ending a two-year rising trend. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2017 with an increase of 8.7% against the previous year. The level of consumption peaked at $15.8B in 2007; however, from 2008 to 2019, consumption failed to regain the momentum.

In physical terms, the volume of consumption amounted to 6.3M tonnes which remained relatively stable against the previous year; over the last decade, it increased gradually with some slight fluctuations in certain years.

Consumption by Country

The countries with the highest volumes of chicken egg consumption in 2019 were Germany (1.1M tonnes), France (881K tonnes) and Spain (761K tonnes), together accounting for 44% of total consumption. Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Hungary and Sweden lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 44%.

From 2007 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of chicken egg consumption, amongst the key consuming countries, was attained by Belgium, while chicken egg consumption for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest chicken egg markets in the European Union were Germany ($2.3B), France ($2B) and Spain ($1.4B), together comprising 45% of the total market. These countries were followed by Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, Austria, Portugal and Belgium, which together accounted for a further 40%.

The countries with the highest levels of chicken egg per capita consumption in 2019 were the Netherlands (31 kg per person), Austria (17 kg per person) and Spain (16 kg per person).

Market Forecast to 2030

Driven by increasing demand for chicken egg in the European Union, the market is expected to continue an upward consumption trend over the next decade. Market performance is forecast to retain its current trend pattern, expanding with an anticipated CAGR of +1.0% for the period from 2019 to 2030, which is projected to bring the market volume to 7M tonnes by the end of 2030.

Production in the EU

Chicken egg production reached 6.4M tonnes in 2019, stabilizing at 2018 figures. Over the period under review, production, however, showed a relatively flat trend pattern. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2013 when the production volume increased by 9.2% y-o-y. As a result, production reached the peak volume of 6.6M tonnes. From 2014 to 2019, production growth remained at a somewhat lower figure.

Production by Country

The countries with the highest volumes of chicken egg production in 2019 were Germany (852K tonnes), France (845K tonnes) and Spain (841K tonnes), with a combined 39% share of total production. Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Portugal, Hungary, Austria and Sweden lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 48%.

From 2007 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of chicken egg production, amongst the leading producing countries, was attained by Austria, while chicken egg production for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Producing Animals in the EU

The total number of hens for egg production stood at 458M heads in 2019, approximately equating 2018 figures. Over the period under review, the number of producing animals continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2010 with an increase of 5.5% y-o-y. As a result, the number of producing animals attained the peak level of 461M heads. From 2011 to 2019, the growth of this number failed to regain the momentum.

Yield in the EU

The average chicken egg yield dropped slightly to 14 kg per head in 2019, approximately equating the year before. Over the period under review, the yield saw a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2013 when the yield increased by 7.2% against the previous year. Over the period under review, the chicken egg yield reached the peak level at 15 kg per head in 2007; however, from 2008 to 2019, the yield failed to regain the momentum.

Exports in the EU

In 2019, the amount of chicken eggs exported in the European Union fell modestly to 1.1M tonnes, declining by -2% against the year before. Overall, exports saw a abrupt curtailment. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2018 with an increase of 2.4% year-to-year.

In value terms, chicken egg exports dropped modestly to $2.1B (IndexBox estimates) in 2019. Over the period under review, exports saw a relatively flat trend pattern. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2013 with an increase of 17% year-to-year. The level of export peaked at $2.3B in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, exports failed to regain the momentum.

Exports by Country

The Netherlands was the largest exporting country with an export of around 396K tonnes, which accounted for 34% of total exports. It was distantly followed by Poland (214K tonnes), Germany (130K tonnes), Spain (87K tonnes) and Belgium (85K tonnes), together mixing up a 45% share of total exports. France (34K tonnes), Latvia (22K tonnes), Italy (19K tonnes), Bulgaria (18K tonnes) and the Czech Republic (18K tonnes) followed a long way behind the leaders.

From 2007 to 2019, the biggest increases were in Spain, while shipments for the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the Netherlands ($743M) remains the largest chicken egg supplier in the European Union, comprising 35% of total exports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by Poland ($284M), with a 13% share of total exports. It was followed by Germany, with a 13% share.

In the Netherlands, chicken egg exports plunged by an average annual rate of -3.0% over the period from 2007-2019. In the other countries, the average annual rates were as follows: Poland (+13.0% per year) and Germany (-1.6% per year).

Export Prices by Country

The chicken egg export price in the European Union stood at $1,845 per tonne in 2019, approximately mirroring the previous year. In general, the export price recorded strong growth. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in 2013 when the export price increased by 28% against the previous year. Over the period under review, export prices reached the maximum at $1,875 per tonne in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2019, export prices stood at a somewhat lower figure.

There were significant differences in the average prices amongst the major exporting countries. In 2019, the country with the highest price was the Czech Republic ($2,582 per tonne), while Latvia ($1,259 per tonne) was amongst the lowest.

From 2007 to 2019, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Belgium, while the other leaders experienced mixed trends in the export price figures.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform

Archives, Executive Education, Global Trade Daily

Why Knowledge Management is Important to the Success of Your Company

July 3rd, 2020 Mostafa Sayyadi Leave a comment

Executives today are more focused on strategic management decision making due to the hypercompetitive global environment and the public and private sector evaluation and opinion. Executes still wonder where is knowledge and how can it be captured, utilized, and enhanced when it comes to decision-making. Executives found that within organizations, knowledge resides in various areas such as management, employees, culture, structure, systems, processes, and relationships, and its role is to enhance organizational functions.

Executives across the globe have found that knowledge is critical to business success. Knowledge, in of itself, is not enough to satisfy the vast array of changes in today’s organization. Therefore, knowledge management is only a necessary precursor to effectively managing knowledge within the organization.

First executives must understand the concept of organizational knowledge itself. Organizational knowledge cannot merely be described as the sum of individual knowledge, but as a systematic combination of knowledge based on social interactions shared among organizational members. Executives can categorize followers based on their human knowledge which focuses on individual knowledge and manifests itself in an individual’s competencies and skills. Executives, being more conceptual, agree with Haridimos Tsoukas who determines organizational knowledge as a collective mind, and Kiku Jones and Lori Leonard who explain organizational knowledge as the knowledge that exists in the organization as a whole. Most importantly, organizational knowledge is owned and disseminated by the organization.

The key take-away for executives is that knowledge is a resource that enables organizations to solve problems and create value through improved performance and it is this point that will narrow the gaps of success and failure leading to more successful decision-making. The key is for executives to convert individual knowledge into valuable resources to ensure that the knowledge is actually helping the organization grow both professionally for individuals and profitably for all stakeholders.

Companies are increasingly investing in knowledge management projects. But knowledge management in companies is still quite limited. Knowledge management can help companies identify their inefficiencies in organizational processes, and subsequently recover them on an instantaneous basis which enables executives to prevent further operational risk. The question remains. How does knowledge management impact executive success?

Executive success is tantamount to organizational performance and in many cases, their salary is concurrently determined on organizational success. By combining knowledge management and executive success, executives are able to answer the questions necessary to apply knowledge management without having to delve through all the models and theories to find what works well for them and what does not. Knowledge is firstly accumulated by creating new knowledge from organizational intellectual capital and acquiring knowledge from external environments.

This knowledge exchange with external business partners develops innovative environments that can enable executives to create a more innovative climate in companies. The knowledge management process enhances the capabilities of executives to play the role of inspirational motivation, which enables executives to directly set highly desired expectations to recognize possible opportunities in the business environment. The knowledge exchange also positively contributes to executives to develop a more effective vision, including a more comprehensive array of information and insights about external environments.

Executives then integrate knowledge internally to enhance the effectiveness and efficiencies in various systems and processes, as well as to be more responsive to market changes. Knowledge integration focuses on monitoring and evaluating knowledge management practices, coordinating experts, sharing knowledge, and scanning the changes of knowledge requirements to keep the quality of their products or services in-line with market demand. It is apparent that knowledge integration activities can help executives assessing the required changes to keep the quality of both products and services at maximum levels. Furthermore, a systematic process of coordinating company-wide experts enables executives to propel the role of intellectual stimulation, which creates a more innovative environment within companies.

Executives must also curtail knowledge within organizations. The knowledge within organizations needs to be reconfigured to meet environmental changes and new challenges today. What worked yesterday or a few years ago is changing rapidly as technology has increased in a prolific way. Knowledge is globally shared with other organizations through domestic and global rewards such as the Malcolm Baldridge Award in the United States and the Deming Award in Japan. However, past studies have posited that companies might lack the required capabilities or decide to decline from interacting acting with other companies or even suffer the distrust to share their knowledge. Therefore, expert groups may not have sufficient diversity in order to comprehend knowledge acquired from external sources.

Based upon these limitations whether natural or caused, networking with business partners is a key activity for companies to enhance knowledge exchange and it should not take an award to be the impetus to initiate interaction. Ergo, networking with external business partners may enhance executive success, thereby empowering executives to better develop strategic insights to develop a more effective vision incorporating various concerns and values of external business partners.

The knowledge transference among companies itself improves the effectiveness of learning, which in turn enables executives to empower human resources by creating new knowledge and solutions. Thus, I suggest that networking takes place among companies in both domestic and international markets which may lead to enhance the effective use of leadership. Therefore, if executives in senior positions effectively use knowledge management then they may be able to improve executive success through increased learning opportunities.

In conclusion, this article actually investigates the crossover potential of scholarly research and how it can be applied in the organizational boardroom. I offer practical contributions to managers at all levels of the organization. This article introduces a new and dynamic perspective of knowledge management within organizations, and adds to a relatively small body of literature but pays homage to the scholarly contributions. I stress that knowledge is a strategic resource for organizational portfolios.

This article suggests that knowledge management constitutes the foundation of a supportive workplace to improve executive success and reduce operational risk. The key here is that there are positive effects of knowledge management on executive success. I highlight the direct impact of knowledge management on executive success by facilitating important components of performance. When business leaders ensure executive success they increase control and lesson operational risk. In fact, I suggest that if knowledge management initiatives are not completely in favor of supporting organizational processes, companies may become obsolete, taken over, or acquired.

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Mostafa Sayyadi works with senior business leaders to effectively develop innovation in companies and helps companies—from start-ups to the Fortune 100—succeed by improving the effectiveness of their leaders. He is a business book author and a long-time contributor to business publications and his work has been featured in top-flight business publications.

Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Five Ways Businesses Changed Their Daily Operations for Good

July 2nd, 2020 Brad McElroy Leave a comment

The future is arriving quickly. There’s already been talk about how COVID-19 has accelerated automation, and some jobs will be changed if they come back at all. There’s no doubt the recent pandemic is shaping how we do business, from restaurants and retail spaces to even how we manufacture goods. And with many states reopening in phases, or just outright reopening, what does “getting back to business” look like as we forge ahead?

The supply chain gets a wakeup call

During the pandemic, shortages of masks and hand sanitizer rocked many supermarkets like Walmart and Costco. With such a quick spike, and having such a large gap to fill in the supply chain, distilleries stepped in with safe, alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Clothing companies engineered their manufacturing process to make masks out of spare materials. Auto manufacturers teamed up to help produce ventilators. The list goes on.

One of the biggest attributes many companies needed to stay successful and stay in business? Flexibility. When stay-at-home orders went into effect, businesses had to figure things out overnight. That included a new way to make goods that people desperately needed.

The upside? Now you can see hand sanitizer in repurposed liquor bottles at many grocery stores across the U.S.

But all of this was a symptom of a larger issue.

“Early on, much of the economic impact that companies in the U.S. experienced were related to supply-side disruption due to shutdowns in other countries,” said Thomas Hartland-Mackie, President & CEO of City Electric Supply. “This pandemic has highlighted the danger of over-relying on a single manufacturing hub as well as a need to diversify sources to include local or domestic suppliers.”

With global trade, a smooth-functioning supply chain doesn’t exactly impact manufacturing. That is, until it gets rocky.

As a few supplies, like masks and hand sanitizers, reached mass critical demand all around the world, they plunged in availability. Hospitals, frontline workers, and more were left without protective gear required to safely do their jobs.

At the time, when these supplies were almost impossible to locate, domestic-made products were a necessity. They were easier to source and easier to ship when time was more important than ever. This could be the wakeup call manufacturing needs to move a little closer to home instead of relying on centralized factories on the other side of the world to fill gaps in the supply chain.

With this catastrophe still fresh in the minds of many businesses and governments, various shock scenarios will have to be considered more heavily to help rebuild the supply chain for a more resilient future.

Staying connected

The businesses that figured out how to stay connected with their customers, whether they were operating in a limited capacity or having to put business on hold completely, were the ones that added to their digital currency. But for most small businesses, digital currency could only take them so far. That meant developing alternative revenue streams to help them stay afloat, even if they were designated as essential businesses.

Restaurants and bars regularly teamed up with delivery services to help them maintain some cash flow during the lean months, including online ordering and curbside pickup. Personal trainers and fitness studios went digital with their classes to help keep their clients working out and to help keep their brand top of mind.

Other companies went a step further and identified gaps in the supply chain to fulfill in meaningful ways. As we mentioned before, distilleries helped make safe, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and clothing companies reengineered their manufacturing process to make masks out of spare materials.

All of this helped these businesses either keep cash flowing into the business, or at the very least, kept them in the minds of their customers long enough until they could reopen. From creative online solutions that let them continue operating to doubling down on marketing efforts to keep in touch virtually, the ones that stayed flexible and stayed connected weathered the pandemic better than others.

But also, what about the flood of statements from companies preaching togetherness in the first few weeks of the pandemic? Did that help customers feel more connected to their favorite businesses? Hartland-Mackie certainly thinks so.

“We’ve all heard those jokes about how people are receiving too many long emails from businesses explaining what they’re doing in response to COVID-19, but the reality is that customers appreciate it,” said Hartland-Mackie. “Customers want to hear from the companies they are loyal to and be reassured – as long as it is authentic – that businesses have their customers in mind as they make decisions.”

Remote work is not remote

Working in offices could be a thing of the past. Already high-profile companies like Twitter have announced indefinite work-from-home plans for their employees, and more will probably follow their lead. In an age of digital nomads, this could be a huge selling point for attracting talented workers.

When the pandemic first started, many companies had to figure out how to work 100% digitally practically overnight. This involved utilizing web-based communication programs like Skype, Zoom, and Slack to ensure teams were in constant communication with each other when it mattered most. Now, with some offices opening back up, some employees could be receiving more lenient work from home policies, or, at the very least, there may be less face-to-face meetings in the workplace.

Another huge benefit to remote working becoming more commonplace? (Aside from less meetings, of course.) Embracing the all-digital transformation can boost productivity. Now with a lot of the same information freely available for employees to do their job, there should be less presentations sharing known information across the company. Now, only vital information can be created and shared, freeing up more resources to resolve the most critical issues at hand along with more focused daily agendas.

It’s not delivery, it’s curbside pickup

Well, it’s a little bit of both. For essential businesses that couldn’t take advantage of “contactless” delivery, the next best bet was curbside pickup.

“As a federally designated essential business, City Electric Supply branches have stayed open, but we needed to provide ways to keep customers and employees as safe as possible. We began offering curbside pickup and it’s been so successful that we’ve received feedback from customers asking us to continue it as an ongoing service,” Hartland-Mackie said.

What was once seen as an added-value service was the main way for many businesses to maintain cash flow when customers were no longer allowed inside. And with the latest reopening efforts, some customers are still opting for curbside pickup in lieu of shopping themselves.

With how convenient curbside pickup is for keeping in-store capacity low — and for saving the time of customers who no longer have to spend time shopping or even getting out of their vehicles — this could soon be the new normal for many businesses.

Temperature checks

Whether or not customers should receive temperature checks has been up for some debate, but temperature checks of employees are being implemented in almost all states in various industries, including food service and healthcare. Even though workers could be asymptomatic, it still helps cut down on cases progressing to severe stages and worsening infection rates.

This has also had a snowball effect on various other issues related to work policies, from sick leave to hazard pay. Most employers are erring on the side of caution, allowing employees to stay home if they or someone they come into regular contact with have health issues that put them at risk of infection.

With daily operations coming under such a heavy microscope, this means that even employers are examining how existing sick policies have hurt more than helped. If more lenient and flexible policies have not already been put in place, expect it to happen as phased reopening progresses.

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Brad McElory is a Copywriter at City Electric Supply

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

The Latin American Melon Market To Pursue Temperate Growth

July 2nd, 2020 IndexBox Leave a comment

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

The Latin American melon market reached $1.4B in 2019, with an increase of 6.4% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers’ margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). The market value increased at an average annual rate of +1.8% over the period from 2007 to 2019; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being recorded in certain years. The level of consumption peaked in 2019 and is likely to see gradual growth in the immediate term.