As a layer breeding company, it is a priority for NOVOGEN to follow egg market trends. Such close contact with the field allows us to anticipate market changes and adapt our breeding programme accordingly to ensure NOVOGEN breeds fulfils customers’ expectations. Therefore, we are pleased to share our latest world egg market update with you.
A GROWING MARKET
Among all animal protein sources, eggs are a multi-advantage food product:
- High quality and heathy protein
- Low greenhouse gas impact
- Relatively affordable protein source in comparison with other animal sources
- Easy to cook in various recipes and consumed all over the world
For these reasons and many more, the world egg market has been witnessing a yearly growth of around 2% for more than 2 decades.
According to a NOVOGEN market study evaluation, this trend will keep going for two main reasons:
- Global population growth: according to the UN (2019), the global population is expected to grow from 7.7 billion in 2019 to 9.7 billion in 2030 (+0.7%/year on average)
- Growth in global egg consumption: average global egg consumption is around 160 eggs/capita. The following map illustrates the potential growth in consumption per area.
A GLOBAL BALANCE BETWEEN BROWN AND WHITE EGG PRODUCTION
The global egg market is mainly divided between two colours: brown and white eggs. The table below shows significant differences between areas in the colour of the eggs produced. The main reason is the traditional behaviour of customers, who are used to eating a certain colour of egg. Despite the fact there is no difference at the consumer level, very few markets are switching from one colour to the other.
Looking at the global level, production is almost balanced between the two egg colours, with 47% white and 53% brown eggs. It should be noted: other egg colours are less important even if tinted (or pink) have a tangible market share in some markets.
| Area | White egg (%) | Brown egg (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 44 | 56 |
| China | 30 | 70 |
| CIS | 44 | 56 |
| Middle East | 81 | 19 |
| Africa | 7 | 93 |
| Europe | 16 | 83 |
| North America | 92 | 8 |
| South America | 59 | 41 |
| World | 47 | 53 |
A VARIETY OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
A major trait of the egg market is the variety of production systems used in the field. The figure below has divided them into 3 categories:
- Cage system: battery or enriched cage farm
- Traditional alternative: a traditional farm using a floor system
- Social alternative: cage free farm (aviary, free range, organic farm…) answers to new social demand with regards to animal welfare
Social alternative systems are rapidly developing in Europe and North America. Such systems are also now starting to develop in new markets such as Brazil, South East Asia. Nonetheless, looking at the global level, the cage remains the first system of production used worldwide.
TO CONCLUDE
The growth of the global egg market and its evolution will benefit the egg industry and those companies able to adapt to these new trends. As a layer breeding company, the NOVOGEN R&D programme is continuously adapting to ensure our breeds answer to customer demand.
With the NOVOgen White and NOVOgen Brown breeds, we are able to propose a very efficient solution for the brown and white egg market in all environments and climates.
NOVOGEN is also a pioneer in selecting for bird behaviour by using various production systems for cage and floor. It allows our breeds to adapt to the different systems of production encountered in the field.
Efficiency and innovation are in NOVOGEN’s genes and allow us to contribute to developing the global egg industry.
