Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • FREE Magazine Subscriptions
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Poultry News
    • Production
      • Broiler Production
      • Ducks
      • Egg Production
      • Game
      • Hatching
      • Housing
      • Turkeys
    • Processing
    • Business & Politics
      • Business
      • Economics
      • EU & Politics
      • Marketing
      • People
      • Training & Education
    • Welfare
      • Environment
      • Food Safety
      • Vet & Medication
      • Welfare
    • Feed
    • Genetics
    • New Products
    • Magazines
      1. July 2022
      2. June 2022
      3. May 2022
      4. April 2022
      5. February 2022
      6. January 2022
      Featured

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      By Michael BarkerJune 28, 2022
      Recent

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      June 28, 2022

      Protected: Finalists Supplement – National Egg & Poultry Awards 2022

      June 27, 2022

      Protected: Innovation Supplement 2022

      June 1, 2022
    • Jobs
      • Browse Jobs
      • Post a Job
      • Manage Jobs
    • Events
      • National Egg and Poultry Awards
      • Poultry Fair
    Poultry News
    Production

    Analysis: Egg producers struggle to make it pay

    Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanJune 2, 20204 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Despite increased demand, the egg sector has been hit hard by coronavirus

    Last year, many egg producers were concerned about the egg market being oversupplied. Prices paid to producers were under pressure because there was a plentiful supply of eggs.

    At the beginning of the year, there were several outbreaks of low pathogenic avian influenza in the UK, which led to a number of flocks being taken out of prouction early. Around three million birds were taken out of production, which led to an instant tightening of supply.

    This has been particularly evident since the outbreak of COVID-19. Supermarket sales data shows there has been an unprecedented demand for eggs sold through retailers. Volume sales of all kinds of eggs increased 14.5% year-on-year for the 12-week period ending 21 April (see page 34 for full retail data).

    The industry worked hard to redirect egg from the foodservice sector, which has been forcibly closed since the end of March in efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

    But there have been big challenges, and problems with the supply chain mean Lidl last month started importing Dutch colony egg to fill gaps on shelves. The British Free Range Producers’ Association (BFREPA) has now reported Sainsbury’s is planning to do the same.

    Robert Gooch, chief executive of BFREPA says it is “extremely disappointing” Lidl has been stocking Dutch eggs. “We believe there is enough British egg – and it is incumbent on retailers to leave no stone unturned to find it, rather than importing an inferior product just to protect their profit margin.”

    There has been some success in redirecting foodservice egg to retail. White eggs have started appearing on supermarket shelves, despite the fact they make up just 1% of total production in the UK and are almost exclusively used usually are predominantly used in the processing sector, utilised by food service customers including fast food restaurants.

    However, the price for eggs destined for foodservice has been poor.

    Noble Foods has been able to redirect its liquid egg products for foodservice, sold under the Great British Egg Co brand, into retail packs.

    For producers that sell shell egg, another challenge has been the increased demand for retail packaging. Egg destined for foodservice is packed on flat trays holding up to 30 eggs, rather than boxes. This national shortage of packaging has been seen on supermarket shelves, where more product is now being offered in plastic egg boxes, which had previously been phased out in favour of more environmentally friendly card.

    Prices have also been squeezed according to Gooch, who says having too much egg in the supply chain has squeezed every producer, most of whom are selling eggs well below the £1.01 per dozen break-even cost.

    “Thankfully we are starting to see some upward movement in the prices paid to some farmers after packers were able to negotiate their increases with the supermarkets,” he says. “But it has all been too slow. Meanwhile, the feed price has risen and, as usual, my members are at the bottom of the list when it comes to seeing their costs covered.”

    The NFU is also planning how it can best respond to the challenges faced by its egg producer members. Before COVID-19 all UK retailers were 100% British Lion Code. The NFU’s poultry board is considering several ways to strengthen the domestic market and explore new opportunities for increasing the availability of British egg in retail.

    The NFU is asking retailers to exhaust every avenue of opportunity to source British eggs before considering making any commitments to source eggs from outside of the UK. If there is no choice but to source eggs from outside of the UK in order to keep the shelves stocked,then this egg should be clearly labelled to ensure consumers are fully aware that they are not purchasing British Lion eggs.

    The NFU is also asking consumers to continue supporting British egg producers by purchasing British eggs where possible and looking out for the Lion stamp on egg packaging when they are shopping in the supermarket. It is important to see the clear labelling of non-UK eggs, so consumers can consider whether they have been produced to the same high food safety standards or not.

    The union also wants supply chain relationships to be strengthened and future contractual agreements to be based on shared risk and reward.

    The UK egg industry in numbers

    • The national laying flock is around 42 million birds
    • Production is split 53% free range, 42% colony cage, 3% organic and 2% barn.
    • BEIC data shows that in 2019 the UK produced over 11 billion eggs and consumed just over 13 billion eggs, making the UK 89% self-sufficient for eggs.
    • Imports accounted for 1.68 billion eggs and 271 million eggs were exported during the same year.

     

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleAnalysis: Trade talks with the US have started, but fears about cheap chlorinated chicken just won’t go away
    Next Article NFU backs cross-party group calls for Agriculture Bill boost to genetic innovation post-Brexit
    Chloe Ryan

    Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

    Read Similar Stories

    Production

    Comment: Why strategic male management is vital

    July 6, 2022
    Egg Production

    How sex selection technology is transforming the egg industry

    July 6, 2022
    Production

    Comment: The funding for research on avian influenza is much needed

    July 5, 2022
    Most Read

    New research: Strong demand for poultry but big operational challenges remain

    July 6, 2022

    Comment: Why strategic male management is vital

    July 6, 2022

    How sex selection technology is transforming the egg industry

    July 6, 2022
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Contractor
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
    explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
    ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
    tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo