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INTERNATIONAL EGG COMMISSION SPECIAL ECONOMIC REPORT MARCH 2014 1

Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst, IEC Statistical AnalystPatterns of European egg production and egg trade after the banning of conventional cages in the EU

INTERNATIONAL EGG COMMISSION SPECIAL ECONOMIC REPORT MARCH 20142

The particular situation of the European egg industry

Introduction Objectives

In contrast to other continents, the European egg industry has been confronted with

particular challenges over the past 25 years.

In 1990, the political and economic system of the former USSR and most of the

Eastern European countries collapsed. The necessary political and socio-economic

transformation process in these countries led to a considerable decrease in egg

production. New independent countries were established and the EU expanded. Not

all new member countries have been able to reach a production volume comparable

to that before the beginning of the economic transformation process. Some were

successful in their integration into market orientated production and trade systems,

others are still struggling.

In the middle of the transformation process they were confronted with another

challenge, the banning of conventional cages from 2012 onwards, or even earlier

in Austria and Germany from 2010. It is estimated that the implementation of

Directive 1999/74/EU resulted in investments between five and six billion euros (€).

A particular problem was caused by the fact that it was not before 2008 that the EU

Commission decided that the legal regulations as expressed in the directive would

not be changed and the deadline would not be extended as some countries in Eastern

and Southern Europe had requested. So there was not much time left to adapt to the

directive and to start the change to other housing systems.

A new problem arose from the economic and financial crisis in several Southern

European countries. Their argument was that because of the lack of capital they would

not be able to meet the requested deadline of December 31st, 2012. According to

historical data from the EU Commission, about 43 million laying hens were still kept

in conventional cages in June 2012. So it was a surprise for many observers when the

EU Commission published data early in 2013 which showed that the implementation

of Directive 1999/74/EU had been completed successfully in December 2012

The main objectives of this report

are:

• to present an overview of the

changing contribution of European

countries and the EU to global egg

production between 2000 and 2012,

• to analyse the dynamics of egg

production in the European sub-

regions between 2000 and 2012,

• to document the time-spatial

transformation of conventional

cages to alternative housing

systems in the EU and to present an

overview of the present situation,

• to analyse what impact the

political and socio-economic

transformation in the USSR and

Eastern Europe and the banning of

conventional cages had on the trade

patterns of eggs,

• to present trade flows for

the leading egg exporting and

importing countries in the EU (27),

• to discuss possible impacts of the

new challenges for the egg industry

in the EU (27).

Figures used in this document are stated in United Kingdom format with a “,” to separate 000s and a “.” to denote decimal places. In all cases for units of measure-ment “t” means “tonnes” and “mill.t” means “million tonnes”.


1PART The changing contribution

of Europe to global egg production between 2000 and 2012

Until 1988 Europe was the leading continent

in global egg production it was then surpassed

by Asia. Figure 1 shows that in the early 1990s

European production volume decreased

considerably due to the collapse of the political

and economic systems in the former USSR and

Eastern Europe. Despite the recovery of egg

production since 2000, the total production

volume is still about 1 mill. t lower than in the

late 1980s.

Between 2000 and 2012 egg production in

Europe increased from 9.5 mill. t to 10.5 mill.t

or by 11.1%. Nevertheless, the contribution of

European countries to global egg production

decreased from 18.6% in 2000 to 16.1% in 2012.

This is a result of the fast growth in Asia of

almost 7.7 mill. t in the analysed time period and

1.6 mill. t in Central and South America (Table

1). In total, global egg production grew by over

14.4 mill. t or 28.3%.

TABLE 1

FIGURE 1

The changing contribution of the continents to global egg production between 2000 and 2012; data in 1,000t Source: FAO database

The development of global egg production between 1970 and 2012Source: FAO

database

2000 2005 2012CONTINENT PRODUCTION SHARE PRODUCTION SHARE PRODUCTION SHARE (%) (%) (%)

Africa 1,888 3.7 2,212 3.9 2,820 4.3Asia 29,009 56.8 32,587 57.6 38,691 59.1Europe 9,480 18.6 9,866 17.4 10,531 16.1N America* 7,159 14.0 7,758 13.7 8,190 12.5 CS America 3,313 6.5 3,941 7.0 4,965 7.6Oceania 199 0.4 205 0.4 289 0.4

World **51,049 100.0 **56,570 100.0 65,486 100.0

* Canada, Mexico, USA** sum does not add because of rounding

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

*

Egg

prod

uctio

n (m

ill t)

Africa Asia Europe North America Central & South America Oceania *Preliminary


1

4

PART

In the EU (27), the production volume increased

from 6.6 mill. t to 7.0 mill. t or by only 6.3%

between 2000 and 2012. This documents that

the recovery of European egg production was

mainly a result of the dynamics in some Eastern

European countries. The contribution of the EU

(27) to global egg production fell from 13.0% in

2000 to only 10.7% in 2012.

A closer look at the dynamics at a country level

shows (Table 2) that the ten leading countries

contributed 9.1 mill. t or 64.5% to the global

growth in the analysed time period, China’s

contribution alone was 5.5 mill. t. In 2000, three

European countries ranked among the top ten

egg producing countries, Russia, France and

Germany; in 2012, it was still three countries but

Germany was replaced by Ukraine. The regional

concentration decreased, for the ten leading

countries shared 70.6% of the global production

in 2000, but only 69.1% in 2012.

In contrast, the regional concentration in

Europe grew from 80.2% to 82.3% between

2000 and 2012. This was due to the increase of

the production volume in most of the leading

countries. Only in France (-180,000 t) and

Germany (-93,000 t), was a downward trend

observed (Table 3). In Germany this was the

result of the earlier banning of conventional cages

(from 2010), but in France it reflects the general

crisis in the French poultry industry. It is worth

mentioning that the highest absolute and relative

increase was shown by Ukraine with 583,000 t or

117%. In this country, the egg industry showed a

considerable upward trend, however this has not

yet had a large impact on the role of Ukraine in

egg exports. Obviously, the production growth is

mainly the result of a growing domestic demand.

The same is true for the Russian Federation, for

the increase in the production volume of almost

440,000 t has not led to higher exports.

World egg production 2012

65,486,000 tonnes

European contribution to world egg production 2012

10,531,000 tonnes


TABLE 2

TABLE 3

The ten leading egg producing countries in 2000, 2005 and 2012Source: FAO database

The ten leading European countries in egg production in 2000, 2005 and 2012Source: FAO database

2000COUNTRY PRODUCTION SHARE (1,000 t) (%)

China 18,547 36.3USA 4,998 9.8Japan 2,535 5.0India 2,035 4.0Russia 1,895 3.7Mexico 1,788 3.5Brazil 1,509 3.0France 1,038 2.0Germany 901 1.8Turkey 810 1.6

10 countries 36,056 *70.6

World 51,049 100.0


Russia 1,895 20.0France 1,038 10.9Germany 901 9.5Italy 686 7.2Netherlands 668 7.0Spain 658 6.9UK 569 6.0Ukraine 497 5.2Poland 424 4.5Romania 263 7.8

10 countries 7,599 *80.2

Europe 9,480 100.0

China 20,724 36.6USA 5,333 9.4India 2,568 4.5Japan 2,481 4.4Russia 2,050 3.6Mexico 2,025 3.6Brazil 1,675 3.0France 930 1,6Indonesia 856 1.5Germany 795 1.4

10 countries 39,437 *69.7

World 56,570 100.0

Russia 2,050 20.8France 930 9.4Germany 795 8.1Ukraine 748 7.6Italy 722 7.3Spain 708 7.3UK 609 6.2Netherlands 607 6.2Poland 536 5.4Romania 355 3.6

10 countries 8,060 81.7

Europe 9,866 100.0





China 24,000 36.6USA 5,435 8.3India 3,500 5.3Japan 2,507 3.8Russia 2,334 3.6Mexico 2,318 3.5Brazil 2,037 3.1Indonesia 1,180 1.8Ukraine 1,075 1.6France 854 1.3

10 countries 45,240 *69.1

World 65,486 100.0

Russia 2,334 22.1Ukraine 1,080 10.2France 854 8.1Germany 808 7.7Italy 765 7.3Spain 693 6.6Netherlands 672 6.4UK 630 6.0Poland 530 5.0Romania 312 3.0

10 countries 8,678 82.3

Europe 10,531 100.0

* sum does not add because of rounding


PART


2The dynamics of egg production in the European sub-regions between 2000 and 2012

Between 2000 and 2012 European egg

production increased from 9.5 mill. t to 10.5

mill. t (Table 4). As can be seen from Figure 2,

the decrease since the early 1990s was mainly the

result of the new political and economic situation

in Eastern Europe. The downward trend lasted

until 1996, from then on several countries

showed an increase in their production volume.

In Western Europe, a fall in egg production can

be observed between 2000 and 2011. It was not

before 2012 that the production volume showed

an upward trend again. The steering factors

behind this dynamic will be analysed in detail in

a later chapter. Egg production in Northern and

Southern Europe has fluctuated less even though

a decrease in the production volume can be

observed in some Southern European countries

since 2004. Recent data shows that because of the

banning of conventional cages and the economic

crisis, egg production decreased considerably in

several Southern European countries in 2012.

In the following paragraphs, the European

sub-regions will be analysed in detail. This will

make it possible to characterise the dynamics and

recent patterns more precisely.

Eastern Europe

Eastern European countries1 contributed

40.1% to European egg production in 2000

but 46.5% in 2012. Because of the political and

socio-economic transformation processes the

production volume decreased rapidly between

1990 and 1996. The adaption process to the

new economic situation lasted several years and

differed from country to country. Between 2000

and 2010, egg production in Poland increased

by 195,000 t, but decreased again by 47,000 t

between 2010 and 2012 (Figure 3). In Romania,

egg production grew by 94,000 t between 2000

and 2006 and then decreased by 45,000 t until

2011, after this in 2012 a new growth phase

began. Hungary lost 53,000 t of its production

volume between 2000 and 2011. Despite a

considerable growth of 398,000 t between 2000

and 2011, the production volume in Russia

was still about 48,000 t lower than in 1992.

Quite obviously, the contrasting development

had impacts on European egg trade. Poland, for

example, became a major egg exporting country,

mainly supplying the German market.

A closer look at the ranking of the Eastern

European countries according to the volume of

their egg production shows (Table 5) that the

Russian Federation was in a dominant position

in 2012 with a share of 47.7%, followed by

Ukraine and Poland. The regional concentration

in Eastern Europe is very high, as a result of the

dominant position of the Russian Federation. The

three leading countries contributed 80.5% to the

overall egg production of this sub-region.

Western Europe

In 2000, Western European countries shared

30.9% of the European egg production; by 2012

their contribution had fallen to 25.2%. This

decrease is a result of both the fast recovery of egg

production in Eastern Europe and the stagnating

production volume in Western Europe. It was

not before 2011 that egg production increased

again. More recent data shows, however, that the

banning of conventional cages in EU member

countries from 2012 onwards may have stopped

the upward trend in this sub-region and initiated

a phase of stagnation.

A closer look at the development in selected

countries shows the remarkable dynamics

(Figure 4). In France, egg production decreased

by 198,000 t between 2000 and 2008 before it

started to grow again. But the peak it reached in

2009 with 918,000 t could not be maintained,

the production volume fell by almost 80,000 t

until 2011 before it started to increase again

by 14,000 t in 2012. This reflects the general

crisis in the French poultry industry for similar

dynamics can also be observed in the poultry

meat sector. In Germany, a first drastic decrease

of egg production occurred in the early 1990s as

a result of the collapse of many large state farms

in the former German Democratic Republic.

The situation stabilised between 1993 and 2000,

but from then on, a continuous shrinking of the

production volume can be observed. The latter

is mainly due to the banning of conventional

cages two years earlier than in most of the other

EU member countries. The lowest production

volume of only 662,000 t was reached in 2010

when all conventional cages had to be abandoned.

The self sufficiency rate fell to 55.1% in 2010 and

the import volume of shell eggs for consumption

reached 8.3 billion eggs. But the German egg

1In FAO statistics, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova are counted as European countries.


TABLE 4

TABLE 5

FIGURE 2

FIGURE 3

FIGURE 4

The development of egg production in the European sub-regions between 2000 and 2012; data in 1,000 tSource: Own

calculations

Development of egg production in the sub-regions of Europe between 1990 and 2012Source: FAO database

Development of egg production in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria between 1990 and 2012Source: FAO database

Development of egg production in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium-Luxembourg and Belgium between 1990 and 2012Source: FAO database

The ranking of the Eastern European countries in egg production in 2012Source: FAO database

YEAR NORTHERN EASTERN SOUTHERN WESTERN EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE

2000 967 3,799 1,789 2,925 9,4802005 1,038 4,318 1,869 2,640 9,8662012 1,093 4,894 1,885 2,653 10,525

Change (%) +13.0 +28.8 +5.4 -9.3 +11.0

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe

1,000 t

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Poland Romania Hungary Bulgaria

1,000 t

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

France Germany Netherlands Belgium-Luxembourg Belgium

1,000 t

COUNTRY PRODUCTION SHARE (%) (1,000 t)

Russian Federation 2,334 47.7Ukraine 1,075 22.0Poland 530 10.8Romania 312 6.4Belarus 215 4.4Hungary 131 2.7Czech Republic 115 2.3Slovakia 75 1.5Bulgaria 72 1.5Moldova 35 0.7

Eastern Europe 4,894 100.0

PART


2

8

industry recovered faster than expected. In

2012, the self-sufficiency rate reached 68.3%

and the production volume was higher than

in 2008. Between 2000 and 2003, Dutch egg

production decreased by 205,000 t because

of the influenza outbreak in 2003. From then

on the egg industry has been recovering from

this blow (see Windhorst 2010a). In 2011, the

production volume was 24,000 t higher than in

2000 but decreased by 20,000 t in the following

year. Egg production in Belgium fluctuated

between 213,000 t in 2001, 153,000 t in 2009

and reached 165,000 t in 2012.

A closer look at the contribution of the Western

European countries to the egg production volume

of this sub-region and their ranking (Table 6)

shows that France, Germany and the Netherlands

were in a dominant position. In 2012, they

shared 88.0% of the production volume of

Western Europe all other countries were of

minor importance. This is especially true for

Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland. The two

latter countries have become major egg importing

countries over the past years.

Southern Europe

The contribution of Southern European

countries to egg production in Europe did not

change very much between 2000 and 2012, it

remained at a level of between 18% and 19%.

Italian egg production reached a first peak

in 1997 (Figure 5). In the following years the

production volume fluctuated considerably, as a

result of various influenza outbreaks in northern

Italy. Another peak was reached in 2009 with

812,500 t. The sharp increase should be viewed

in close relation to the development of the egg

industry in Germany where the banning of

conventional cages led to rising imports. But

this high level could not be maintained, for the

production volume fell by 57,000 t until 2011

before it grew again in 2012 by 10,000 t.

The Spanish egg industry has shown remarkable

dynamics since the late 1990s (see Windhorst

2010b). Between 1999 and 2004, egg production

increased by almost 200,000 t. The main steering

factors behind this were a fast growing per capita

consumption and increasing exports. When the

Netherlands had to reduce their exports during

the influenza outbreak in 2003, new markets

for Spanish egg producers opened in Germany,

France and the United Kingdom. With the

recovery of the Dutch egg industry and the new

role of Poland as a major egg exporting country,

the Spanish egg industry lost important markets.

The main steering factors behind the sharp

reduction of egg production between 2004 and

2005 were rising production costs due to higher

feed costs, the devaluation of the English pound,

high investment costs to control Salmonella

infections in layer herds, and a drastic reduction

of the per capita consumption because of high

egg prices. Since 2006 egg production has been

fairly stable at about 800,000 t. In 2012, the

production volume fell by 125,000 because of the

necessary transformation process of the housing

systems and the tense economic and financial

situation in the country. Whether a fast recovery

will be possible for Spain is still an open question.

Egg production in Portugal and Greece is much

lower than in Spain and Italy. In Portugal an

increase in the production volume of 5,000 t

between 2000 and 2005 can be observed. In

Greece egg production hovered around 100,000 t

for the past few years.

As can be seen from the data in Table 7, Spain

and Italy shared 77.4% of the production volume

of this sub-region. The contribution of all other

countries to egg production in this sub-region

was much lower.


TABLE 6

TABLE 7

The ranking of the Western European countries in egg production in 2012Source: FAO database

The ranking of the Southern European countries in egg production in 2012Source: FAO database


France 854 32.2Germany 808 30.5Netherlands 672 25.3Belgium 165 6.2Austria 106 4.0Switzerland 46 1.7Luxembourg 2 0.1

Western Europe 2,653 100.0


Italy 765 40.6Spain 693 36.8Portugal 125 6.6Greece 102 5.4Serbia 79 4.2Croatia 35 1.9Albania 33 1.8Slovenia 26 1.4Bosnia & Herzegovina 19 1.0Malta 4 0.2Montenegro 4 0.2

Southern Europe 1,885 *100.0


0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

Spain Italy Portugal Greece

1,000 t

FIGURE 5

Development of egg production in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece between 1990 and 2012Source: FAO database


2

10

PART

Northern Europe

Northern European countries contributed 10.4%

to European egg production in 2012, 0.2% less

than in 2000. From Figure 6 one can see that

egg production has not changed very much

during the analysed time period in Denmark,

Finland and Norway. In contrast, the production

volume of the United Kingdom has fluctuated

considerably since 1998 when a peak was

reached. This dynamic is closely related to the

decision of several food retailers to no longer list

eggs from cage production. Farmers who were not

willing to invest in alternative housing systems

for laying hens had to cease production. On the

other hand, several new free range farms, some of

them of a remarkable size, and farms with ‘colony

nests’ (a form of enriched cage) were built. Even

though free range eggs are preferred by English

consumers, eggs from colony nests gained market

share over the past years. Between 2000, when

the lowest production volume of 569,000 t

was reached, and 2012, egg production grew by

almost 61,000 t. The high production volume

reached in 2010 could not be maintained, as a

result of the necessary transformation process in

the housing systems.

Whereas Latvia was able to expand its egg

production from 24,400 t in 2000 to 42,500 t

in 2012, Estonia lost over 4,000 t of its former

production volume. Lithuania s egg production

increased by 14,000 t between 2000 and 2007

to 55,000 t but this high level could not be

maintained and the production volume decreased

by 11,000 t by 2012.

With a share of 57.6%, the United Kingdom was

the dominant egg producing country in this sub-

region. It was followed by Sweden, Denmark and

Finland. Together they contributed 81.2% to the

overall production volume of Northern Europe

(Table 8).

A ranking of the European countries according

to their egg production volume shows (Table 9)

that in 2012 82.4% of the overall production was

concentrated in the ten leading countries. With

a share of 22.2% Russia was in a leading position.

Four of the top ranked countries were located in

Eastern Europe, three in Western Europe, two

in Southern Europe and only one in Northern

Europe.

The main results of the preceding

two steps of the analysis can be

summarised as follows:

• Global egg production increased

from 51.0 mill. t in 2000 to 65.5

mill. t in 2012 or by 28.3%. Europe s

egg production volume grew from

9.5 mill. t to 10.5 mill. t or by 11.0%

in the same time period.

• The contribution of European

countries to global egg production

fell from 18.6% in 2000 to 16.1%

in 2012.

• The dynamics in the sub-regions

differed considerably. The highest

absolute growth with 1.1 mill. t

was in Eastern Europe, followed by

Southern Europe with 100,000 t.

• Western Europe was the only

sub-region with a decreasing egg

production. Between 2000 and

2012 the production volume fell by

272,000 t or 9.3%.

• The highest relative growth was

found in Eastern Europe with

28.8%, followed by Northern

Europe with 13.0%.

• The ten leading countries shared

82.4% of the total egg production

volume in Europe, the top two

countries, Russia and Ukraine, had

a combined total of 32.4%.

• The regional concentration was

very high in all sub-regions. The

two or three leading countries

contributed between 70% and 80%

to the total egg production in their

respective sub-region.


FIGURE 6

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012

United Kingdom Denmark Finland Sweden Norway

1,000 t

TABLE 8

TABLE 9

The ranking of the Northern European countries in egg production in 2012Source: FAO database

The ten leading countries in European egg production in 2012Source: FAO database


United Kingdom 653 57.6Sweden 116 10.6Denmark 79 7.2Finland 63 5.8Norway 60 5.5Ireland 45 4.1Lithuania 44 4.0 Latvia 42 3.8Estonia 11 1.0Iceland 3 0.3

Northern Europe 1,093 *100.0


COUNTRY SUB-REGION PRODUCTION SHARE (%) (1,000 t)

Russian Federation Eastern Europe 2,334 22.2Ukraine Eastern Europe 1,075 10.2France Western Europe 854 8.1Germany Western Europe 808 7.7Italy Southern Europe 765 7.3Spain Southern Europe 693 7.0Netherlands Western Europe 672 6.6United Kingdom Northern Europe 630 6.0Poland Eastern Europe 530 5.0Romania Eastern Europe 312 3.0

10 countries - 8,673 *82.4

Europe - 10,525 100.0


Development of egg production in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway between 1990 and 2012Source: FAO database

PART


3

12

The author of this report has dealt with the

regulations of Directive 1999/74/EU in a number

of publications (Windhorst 2010c, 2011) so

this part of the analysis will only deal with the

impacts on the housing systems for laying hens,

the changes in the number of laying hens and on

egg production in the EU (27).

On July 19th, 1999 the EU Commission passed

Directive 1999/74/EC in which minimum

standards for the protection of laying hens

were laid down. The directive decided that

from January 1st, 2012 all conventional cages

would be prohibited and that from January 1st,

2003 onwards it would be prohibited to install

conventional cages in EU member countries. It

was also decided that member countries could

decide to ban cages earlier, which Austria and

Germany did by prohibiting such cages from

2010. Before the final implementation of the

directive, additional scientific studies were

undertaken to analyse the impacts on the welfare

of laying hens and the economy of production.

In 2007, the results of the scientific studies were

available (www.laywel.eu).

The banning of conventional cages in the EU (27) and its impacts on housing systems and egg production

Parallel to the dynamic development

and spatial shifts in egg production, the

volume and trade flows in shell egg trade

changed considerably between 1970

and 2010.

Based on these results, in 2008 the Commission

decided that the regulations of the directive

would not be changed and the deadline of the

implementation would not be extended. It

had taken almost nine years before the final

decision regarding the housing systems which

would be permitted in future was published.

Within this time period, almost no investments

were made because nobody was sure about

the final regulations of the directive. After the

Commission had decided, there was not much

time left for the member countries to implement

the directive. Requests from several member

countries from Eastern and Southern Europe

to extend the deadline were rejected by the

Commission.

In June 2012, when only six months were left

to complete the transformation process from

conventional cages to alternative housing systems,

43.4 million layers or about 8% of the total layer

flock in the EU were still kept in conventional

cages (Figure 7) according to non official data of

the EU Commission. Of these, 30 million layers

were located in Spain and Italy. It is not surprising

that most of the conventional cages were still to

be found in Southern Europe for these countries

were severely affected by the economic and

financial crisis.

Early in 2013, the EU published data about

the status of the transformation process. As

can be seen from Figure 8, no conventional

cages were listed any longer. Obviously, all

member countries had been able to complete the

transformation process in due time, even though

the data is still challenged. From Figure 8 one can

easily see that the preference of the permitted

housing systems differs considerably between

the member countries. In Austria, Germany,

the Netherlands and Sweden the barn system is

preferred, free range systems reach the highest

percentage in the United Kingdom and Ireland,

organic egg farms in Denmark, Sweden, Austria

and Germany. In most of the member countries,

enriched cages, this includes colony nests and

the German Kleingruppenhaltung, dominate. In

thirteen countries 70% or more of the layers were

kept in this housing system in December 2012.

The transformation of the housing systems had

considerable impacts on the number of laying

hens and on egg production. Figure 9 and Table

10 document the development of layer flocks in

the EU (27) between January 2011 and February

2014. It is obvious that the implementation of

Directive 1999/74/EC had far reaching impacts

on the hen population in the EU (27). Between

January 2011, when over 364 million layers were

kept, and January 2012, when the transformation

of housing systems entered the critical phase, the

number of layers decreased by almost 33 million

birds. Then it recovered and almost reached its

former volume in July 2012. Between July and

September 2013 a peak was reached with 397

mill. hens.


FIGURE 7

FIGURE 9

FIGURE 8

Laying hens in EU member countries in conventional cages in June 2012; data in million hensSource: EU Commission

Development of potential layer flocks in the EU (27) between January 2011 and February 2014Source: EMA 11/2013

Housing systems in laying hen husbandry in EU member countries in December 2012Source: EU Commission

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% LT PT ES PL EE LV CZ SK RO HU IT CY FI FR BE IE BG DK SI UK SE NL DE AT

Organic Free range Barn Enriched cage

Num

ber o

f lay

ing

hens

(in

mill

ions

)

400

390

380

370

360

350

340

330

320

310

300 January February March April May June July August September October November December

2011 2012 2013 2014

TABLE 10

The development of the laying hen flock in the EU (27) between January 2011 and February 2014Source: EMA 12/2013

DATE NUMBER OF INDEX LAYING HENS (1/11=100) (1,000)

Jan 2011 364.1 100July 2011 352.9 97Dec 2011 334.1 92Jan 2012 357.3 98July 2012 363.3 100Dec 2012 381.7 105Jan 2013 381.4 105July 2013 397.0 109Dec 2013 385.2 106Jan 2014 377.4 104Feb 2014 375.7 103

Cyprus 0.1

Italy 17.3

France 1.5

Netherlands 1.6

Portugal 2.7

Belgium 3.5

Spain 12.7

Greece 1.8

Poland 2.3

PART


3

14

From September 2013 onwards, the number

of layers decreased sharply and fell to 376 mill.

birds in February 2014. The congruency between

egg prices and the development of the number

of laying hens is obvious. When, due to the

necessary transformation process, the number

of birds decreased in the last months of 2011,

egg prices showed a continuous upward trend.

When, however, the flocks increased again, prices

reached an unforeseeable minimum (Table 11).

To stabilise the market less eggs were hatched and

pullets placed. Quite obviously, egg producers

were pessimistic towards the end of 2013

regarding the future price development, for the

downward trend of the hen population in the EU

(27) continued in the first quarter of 2014.

A complete overview on the impacts of

the banning of conventional cages and the

transformation to alternative housing systems

on the production volume of shell eggs cannot be

given at this time because of an incomplete data

set for all member countries. Preliminary data

supplied by the FAO to the author of this report

shows that the production volume decreased

from 6.716 mill. t in 2010 to 6.590 mill. t in

2012. In contrast, other sources, such as MEG

(2013) or EMA (2013), show a more or less stable

production volume.

In some of the major egg producing countries

the transformation obviously led to a short term

decrease in the production volume. In Germany,

egg production decreased from 782,000 t in

2008 to only 656,000 t in 2010 because of the

banning of conventional cages two years earlier

than in other EU member countries. In Spain,

egg production fell from 937,000 t in 2011 to

862,000 t in 2012; in France, from 954,000 t

in 2010 to 856,000 t in 2012 (MEG 2013).

Different dynamics can be observed in the

Netherlands. Here, the production volume grew

from 644,000 t in 2008 to 710,000 t in 2011

before it decreased to 691,000 t in the following

year. This remarkable volatility is a consequence

of the earlier banning of conventional cages in

Germany and the resulting egg shortage. Dutch

egg producers increased their production to

supply the German market, when, however,

the German egg industry recovered faster than

expected, production had to be adapted to the

new situation. In combination with the necessary

implementation of Directive 1999/74/EC egg

production decreased considerably.

The situation in Germany has to be explained

in more detail. The German government had

decided, according to the possibility as expressed

in Directive1999/74/EC that member countries

were permitted to ban cages earlier than 2012,

to ban conventional cages in 2010. In 2011, the

German government proposed a legal regulation

which had the aim to also phase out enriched

cages and colony nests (Kleingruppenhaltungen).

But the federal government and the governments

of the states (Bundesländer) could not agree

on the time span to phase out this housing

system which had already been implemented by

several egg producers. So the single states had

to decide when such systems would no longer

be permitted. Up to now, the legal situation is,

to express it moderately, confusing as none of

the states have presented a final deadline. Egg

producers in Germany had expected that the

developed Kleingruppenhaltung would become

the housing system of the future, but in addition

to the legal initiatives, as mentioned before, a

new situation originated when the leading food

retailers decided that they would no longer list

shell eggs printed with a “3”. Their argument

was that the consumer could not distinguish

between eggs produced in enriched cages or

colony nests and eggs that were still produced

in conventional cages in other EU member

countries. This decision was mainly a reaction

to the increasing pressure of NGOs not to

sell eggs that were produced in conventional

cages any longer, a housing system which was

prohibited in Germany. Initiatives to use a “4”

for the old conventional cages were rejected by

the EU Commission. The result was that many

egg producers who had planned to install colony

nests had to change their decision. Most of

them switched to the barn system. In 2012, this

housing system shared 67.4% of all layer places,

free range 15.2%, colony nests 9.9%, and organic

systems 7.5%. Recent developments show that

egg producers replace colony nests with the barn

system as it is difficult to sell eggs printed with a

“3” as shell eggs for consumption in Germany.


TABLE 11

The development of shell egg prices in the Netherlands and Germany between January 2011 and December 2013Source: EMA 2/2014

THE NETHERLANDS GERMANYDATE €€€€€€€€-CENTS DATE €€€€€-CENTS PER EGG* PER EGG**

Jan 2011 3.38 Jan 2011 4.17July 2011 4.14 July 2011 5.18Dec 2011 6.16 Dec 2011 7.65Mar 2012 9.98 Mar 2012 12.80July 2012 6.39 July 2012 8.35Dec 2012 7.68 Dec 2012 9.04Mar 2013 5.62 Mar 2013 5.95Sept 2013 4.74 Sept 2013 5.50Dec 2013 5.07 Dec 2013 6.10

* size class M, barn system; producers price

** size class M, enriched cage, wholesale price

The main results of this part

can be summarised as follows:

• In July 1999 the EU

Commission passed Directive

1999/74/EC which laid down

minimum standards for the

protection of laying hens.

• This directive prohibited

conventional cages from

2012 onwards and the

implementation of such cages

from 2003 on.

• It was, however, not before

2008 that a final decision

about the future housing

systems in the EU was

published.

• Whether the

transformation process in

all member countries was

realised within the due time

is challenged, for in June 2012

about 43 million layers were

still kept in conventional

cages.

• In about half of the member

countries, enriched cages and

colony nests are the dominant

housing system. Only in four

countries (Austria, Germany,

the Netherlands and Sweden)

are more than 50% of the

birds kept in barn systems.

• In Germany, a particular

situation resulted from the

banning of cages in 2010 and

the decision of the leading

food retailers to no longer sell

eggs printed with a “3”.

PART


4

16

Changing patterns of egg trade in Europe

The next part of the analysis will focus

on what impacts the changing socio-

economic situation in Eastern Europe and

the banning of conventional cages in the

EU had on global and European egg trade.

On a global scale, only data for 2011 is

available so far, for the EU (27) data for

2012 is available. So the impacts of the

banning of cages can only be documented

at the EU level.

In a first step, the dynamics of the egg trade

between 2000 and 2011 will be analysed on

a global scale in order to get an impression of

how the contribution of Europe to exports and

imports of shell eggs changed.

Between 2000 and 2011 global exports of shell

eggs increased from 945,000 t to 1.8 mill. t or by

91.4%, imports from 886,000 t to 1.7 mill. t or by

89.7%. Compared to the global trade volume of

pig meat and beef, the percentage of eggs which

go into trade is very low with only 2.8%. This

is due to the fact that shell eggs cannot be deep

frozen which limits the possibility to trade them

over long distances (see also Windhorst 2013).

As can easily be seen from the data in Tables 12

and 13, Europe is still the dominant continent

in global egg trade but has lost shares to Asia and

North America in exports and to Asia and Africa

in imports. In 2011, over 90% of the global trade

volume was concentrated in Europe and Asia.

A more detailed analysis at a country level reflects

the growing importance of Asian countries in

egg trade (Tables 14 and 15). Whereas in 2000

only China and Iran ranked among the ten

leading egg exporting countries with a combined

share of 11% of the global export volume, in

2011 four Asian countries were ranked on the

list, China and newcomers Turkey, Malaysia

and Saudi Arabia. Together these four countries

contributed 26.8% to the global export volume.

The Netherlands was still in first place with a

share of 21.4%, but Turkey already ranked as

number two with a contribution of 11.4%. In egg

imports, Germany was still the most attractive

market in 2011. Of the ten leading egg importing

countries six were located in Europe and four in

Asia, with Iraq in second position. Together the

four Asian countries already shared 23.6% of the

global import volume.

TABLE 12

TABLE 13

TABLE 14

TABLE 15

The development of egg exports by continent between 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

The development of egg imports by continent between 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

The ten leading countries in egg exports in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

The ten leading countries in egg imports in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

2000 2005 2012CONTINENT EXPORTS SHARE (%) EXPORTS SHARE (%) EXPORTS SHARE (%)

Africa 6 0.6 6 0.5 7 0.4Asia 204 21.6 250 22.5 553 30.6Europe 641 67.8 754 67.9 1,119 61.9N America* 67 7.1 76 6.8 103 5.7CS America 26 2.8 23 2.1 24 1.3Oceania 1 0.1 1 0.1 4 0.2

World 945 100.0 **1,111 **100.0 **1,809 **100.0

2000 2005 2012CONTINENT IMPORTS SHARE (%) EXPORTS SHARE (%) IMPORTS SHARE (%)

Africa 26 2.9 42 3.8 63 3.7Asia 236 26.6 269 24.6 559 33.3Europe 557 62.9 713 65.2 991 59.0N America* 36 4.1 38 3.5 39 2.3CS America 30 3.4 30 2.7 28 1.7Oceania 1 0.1 2 0.2 2 0.1

World 886 100.0 1,094 100.0 **1,681 **100.0

2000 2011COUNTRY EXPORTS SHARE (%) COUNTRY EXPORTS SHARE (%)

Netherlands 296 31.3 Netherlands 381 21.4Belgium 76 8.0 Turkey 206 11.4Germany 67 7.1 Poland 174 9.6China 65 6.9 Germany 139 7.7USA 64 6.8 Malaysia 138 7.6Spain 48 5.1 China 100 5.5France 44 4.7 Spain 96 5.3Iran 39 4.1 USA 94 5.2Belarus 37 3.9 Belarus 46 2.5Denmark 13 1.4 Saudi Arabia 42 2.3

10 countries 749 79.3 10 countries 1,416 *78.3

World 945 100.0 World 1,809 100.0

2000 2011COUNTRY IMPORTS SHARE (%) COUNTRY IMPORTS SHARE (%)

Germany 220 24.8 Germany 417 24.8Hong Kong 81 9.1 Iraq 188 11.2Italy 63 7.1 Netherlands 156 9.3France 61 6.9 Hong Kong 103 6.1Netherlands 56 6.3 Singapore 75 4.5Singapore 40 4.5 France 63 3.7UK 33 3.7 Belgium 57 3.4Belgium 29 3.3 Switzerland 32 1.9UAE 24 2.7 UK 31 1.8 Switzerland 24 2.7 Iran 30 1.8

10 countries 831 *71.2 10 countries 1,152 68.5

World 886 100.0 World 1,681 100.0

* Canada, Mexico, USA ** sum does not add because of rounding

* Canada, Mexico, USA ** sum does not add because of rounding




TABLE 16

TABLE 17

The ten leading European countries in egg exports in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

The ten leading European countries in egg imports in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO

database

A closer look at the situation in Europe reveals

that the regional concentration of egg exports

and imports was very high in 2000 (Tables 16

and 17). The ten leading egg exporting countries

contributed 97.4% to the overall export volume

and the ten leading egg importing countries

94.1% to the import volume. In 2011, the regional

concentration was much lower, a consequence of

a better integration of several Eastern European

countries into the international market for shell

eggs.

In 2000, only two Eastern European countries,

the Czech Republic and Hungary, were ranked

among the leading egg exporting countries in

Europe with a combined share of 1.4%. Eleven

years later, four countries were to be found in the

list of the top ten exporting countries, Poland,

Ukraine, Belarus and Slovakia. Together they

shared 22.7% of the European export volume.

In 2000, ten years after the beginning of the

socio-economic and political transformation

process in the former USSR and Eastern Europe,

none of these countries played a major role in

egg imports. This may be a result of the recovery

of the egg industry in these countries, but

also of a low per capita consumption and still

comparatively low personal incomes. Even in

2011, only three Eastern European countries,

the Czech Republic, Russia and Poland, were

listed as numbers eight, nine and ten among the

ten leading egg importing countries in Europe.

Together they shared 7.0% of the overall imports.

Germany, the top ranked importing country,

even increased its share in the analysed time

period and imported 42.1% of all shell eggs traded

2000 2011COUNTRY EXPORTS SHARE (%) COUNTRY EXPORTS SHARE (%)

Netherlands 296 50.8 Netherlands 381 32.0Belgium 76 13.0 Poland 174 14.6Germany 67 11.5 Germany 139 11.7Spain 48 8.2 Spain 96 8.1France 44 7.5 Belgium 46 3.9Denmark 13 2.2 Ukraine 39 3.3UK 10 1.7 Belarus 37 3.1Finland 6 1.0 France 33 2.8Czech Rep. 4 0.7 Italy 21 1.8Hungary 4 0.7 Slovakia 20 1.7

10 countries 568 *97.4 10 countries 986 82.9

Europe 583 100.0 Europe 1,189 100.0

2000 2011COUNTRY IMPORTS SHARE (%) COUNTRY IMPORTS SHARE (%)

Germany 220 39.4 Germany 417 42.1Italy 63 11.3 Netherlands 156 15.7France 61 10.9 France 63 6.4Netherlands 56 10.0 Belgium 57 5.8UK 33 5.9 Switzerland 32 3.3Belgium 29 5.2 UK 31 3.1Switzerland 24 4.3 Italy 28 2.8Denmark 20 3.6 Czech Rep. 27 2.7Austria 10 1.8 Russia 22 2.2Sweden 9 1.6 Poland 21 2.1

10 countries 525 *94.1 10 countries 833 84.1

Europe 558 100.0 Europe 991 100.0



PART


4

18

Figures 11, 12 and 13 (overleaf) show the spatial

patterns of egg exports, egg imports and the

balance of trade with shell eggs for the European

countries in 2011. The high trade surplus in

the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Belgium

is obvious, also the high deficits in Germany,

Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Austria

and the Czech Republic. Germany, as the main

egg importing country is located close to the

countries with a high egg surplus and so it is not

surprising that close trade relations developed

over the past decade. Tables 21 and 22 list the

countries with the highest surplus and deficit in

egg trade in 2000 and 2011. The trade surplus of

the Netherlands has not changed very much in

the analysed time period, but Turkey has become

a major competitor. It can also be seen that the

recovery of the egg industry in several Eastern

European countries has led to a considerable

trade surplus. It can be expected that Ukraine

will in future become an important competitor

in the EU egg market as some of the recently

built farms meet the requirements of Directive

1999/74/EU and enable egg producers to export

into the EU once they can demonstrate that the

herds from which these eggs stem are free from

Salmonella.

exports were less important, the transformation

process had only minor impacts. The dramatic

decrease in Spain seems to be closely related to

the economic problems and the lack of capital to

invest in new housing systems. This may also be

the reason for the comparatively sharp decline of

the Polish export volume. For most of the EU (27)

member countries the banning of conventional

cages seems to have been only of minor or short-

term importance regarding necessary imports.

In Germany, the increase of the import volume

by 155,000 t between 2008 and 2010 was

completely compensated for by the recovery of

egg production, and by 2012 egg imports had

once again dropped to the considerably lower

level of 2008. In Spain, egg production fell by

75,000 t between 2011 and 2012; the result was

not only a remarkable decrease in the export

volume but also an increase of egg imports by

120,000 t. How long it will take the Spanish

egg industry to stabilise again, is still an open

question.

in Europe in 2011. This increase is mainly the

result of the rapidly growing imports after the

banning of conventional cages in 2010. As can

be seen from Figure 10, the self-sufficiency rate

dropped to 55.1% in 2010 and almost 8.3 billion

shell eggs had to be imported, of which over 70%

came from the Netherlands. When, however,

the transformation process was concluded

in 2011, egg imports decreased again and fell

to 6.2 billion eggs in 2012 (Table 18) and the

self-sufficiency rate climbed to 68.3%. Quite

obviously, several egg exporting countries in the

EU had underestimated the speed of the German

implementation of new housing systems and

the recovery of egg production which led to an

oversupply of eggs and low egg prices in the first

half of 2011 (see Table 11, page 15). It was not

before the beginning of the transformation of

housing systems in all EU member countries that

prices began to recover again. But in the first half

of 2013 prices began to fall drastically again in

parallel to the increase of the layer flocks in the

EU (see Figure 9, page.13), obviously too many

eggs were in the market. If imports from non-EU

(27) member countries played a decisive role or

the fact that some countries had not concluded

the transformation of housing systems or that old

conventional cages were still used in parallel to

enriched cages is almost impossible to decide.

The impacts that the implementation of

Directive 1999/64/EC had on the development

of egg exports and imports in selected EU

member countries is shown in Tables 19 and

20. In the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, the

export volumes decreased considerably because

of the changes in the housing systems and the

fact that for some time the number of laying

hens fell abruptly. In other countries in which


2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012*

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

Impo

rt v

olum

e of

she

ll eg

gs (i

n bi

llion

pie

ces)

Self

suffi

cien

cy ra

te (i

n %

)

67.4

74.974.0

71.270.7 70.6

68.5 68.6

66.0

68.3

54.9 55.1

67.8

Import volume of shell eggs

Self sufficiency rate

*Forecast

6.2

4.44.7 4.6

4.9 5.3

5.7 5.9 6.0 6.0

7.5

8.3

6.7

FIGURE 10

TABLE 18

TABLE 19

TABLE 21 TABLE 22

TABLE 20

The development of Germany´s egg imports between 2010 and 2012Source: MEG 2013

Development of the self-sufficiency rate for eggs and of egg imports by Germany between 2000 and 2012Source: MEG various

years

The development of egg exports by selected EU (27) member countries between2008 and 2012; data in 1,000 tSource: MEG 2013

The ten countries with the highest surplus in egg trade in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: own

calculations

The ten countries with the highest deficit in egg trade in 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: own

calculations

The development of egg imports in the selected EU (27) member countries between2008 and 2012; data in 1,000 tSource: EMA 2013/

MEG 2013

COUNTRY OF 2010 2012 CHANGEORIGIN MILLION EGGS MILLION EGGS MILLION EGGS %

Netherlands 5,814 4,320 -1,494 -25.7Poland 679 958 +279 +41.1

Total 8,271 6,206 -2,065 -25.0

COUNTRY 2008 2010 2012

Netherlands 365 421 394Poland 121 151 70Germany 104 109 107Italy 11 26 31Spain 109 114 22United Kingdom 4 4 4Latvia 8 19 15Lithuania 14 11 12Portugal 5 11 11Romania 3 6 9

2000 2011COUNTRY SURPLUS COUNTRY SURPLUS

Netherlands 240 Netherlands 226China 64 Turkey 205USA 61 Poland 153Malaysia 56 Malaysia 138Belgium 47 China 100Spain 45 USA 90Iran 38 Spain 86Belarus 36 Saudi Arabia 39India 11 Belarus 36Russia 9 Ukraine 36

2000 2011COUNTRY DEFICIT COUNTRY DEFICIT

Germany 153 Germany 278Hong Kong 81 Iraq 188Italy 62 Hong Kong 102Singapore 40 Singapore 75Switzerland 24 Switzerland 32UAE 24 France 30United Kingdom 23 Iran 27Canada 21 Angola 25France 17 United Kingdom 23Iraq 11 Canada 21

COUNTRY 2008 2010 2012

Germany 355 510 352Spain 21 31 150Netherlands 141 148 126United Kingdom 52 34 26France 65 86 45Belgium/Luxemb’g 43 56 39Italy 17 37 36Czech Republic 21 23 18Poland 16 15 7Portugal 10 12 8

PART


4

20

FIGURE 11

FIGURE 12

Development of egg exports between 2010 and 2011

Development of egg imports between 2010 and 2011

Egg exports (in 1,000 t)

Egg imports (in 1,000 t)

382

191

96

420

210

105

0 500 1000 km

0 500 1000 km

Increase

Decrease

No data in 2010

Increase

Decrease

Egg exports by European countries in 2011 and development since 2010Source: FAO database

Egg imports by European countries in 2011 and development since 2010Source: FAO database


FIGURE 13

Balance of trade (in 1,000 t)

278

139

70

0 500 1000 km

Surplus

Deficit

Balance of trade with shell eggs in European countries in 2011Source: Own calculations

PART


4

22

A closer look at the development of the balance

of trade of shell eggs on the basis of the European

sub-regions reveals that the negative balance in

Western Europe increased considerably. Whereas

this sub-region had a positive balance in 2000,

growing imports by Germany, the Netherlands

and Switzerland led to a negative balance from

2005 onwards. In 2011 it had already reached

a deficit of 137,000 t. On the other hand, the

surplus in Eastern Europe grew constantly, a

consequence of the recovery of the egg industry.

Similar dynamics can be stated for Southern

Europe, a result of the fast growth of egg exports

by Spain. However, it was shown in a preceding

paragraph that Spain was not able to maintain

the high export volume during the course of the

transformation of the housing systems. Northern

Europe still has a negative balance of trade, but

was able to reduce the deficit. For Europe as a

whole, the positive balance of trade of shell eggs

expanded by 45,000 t. It must not be forgotten,

however, that most of the eggs are traded within

Europe and that exports to countries outside this

continent as well as imports into Europe are of

only minor importance.

Eastern Europe

255,000 t

Increase in export volume shell eggs 2000-2011

Western Europe

124,000 tSouthern Europe

75,000 tNorthern Europe

24,000 t

In a final step, the development of egg trade

in the sub-regions of Europe between 2000

and 2011 will be analysed (Table 24). The total

export volume of shell eggs in Europe increased

by 478,000 t or almost 75% in the analysed time

period. The highest absolute and relative growth

was shown by Eastern Europe with 250,000 t or

411.3%. In Western Europe, exports increased

by 124,000 t or 25.7% and in Southern Europe

by 75,000 t or 125.0%. The absolute growth rate

in Northern Europe was comparatively low with

only 24,000 t, but because of the low level in

2000, the relative growth rate reached 66.7%.

In egg imports, the sub-region Western Europe

showed the highest absolute growth with

342,000 t or 85.1%. This remarkable dynamic

is mainly due to the fast growth of imports in

Germany because of the impacts of the banning

of conventional cages in 2010. The highest

relative growth rate was, however, to be found

in Eastern Europe with 776.9%. Whereas in

2000 only 13,000 t had been imported, in

2011 the import volume reached 114,000 t.

Southern Europe was the only sub-region with

decreasing egg imports. This is the result of

a considerable growth in egg production in

some countries, but also it is due to the lasting

economic crisis in several countries which led to

lower consumption. In Northern Europe imports

remained fairly stable over the past decade.

Very close relationships in egg trade developed

between the Netherlands and Germany. This

is documented in Table 23. Of the 6.6 billion

shell eggs which the Netherlands exported in

2012, 4.7 billion or 71% went to Germany (PVE

2013). On the other hand, 4.3 billion or 69.6%

of the 6.2 billion eggs which Germany imported

in the same year, came from the Netherlands.

Poland has also become a very important source

for Germany s egg imports. In 2012, Poland

exported 3.1 billion shell eggs for consumption.

Of these, 1.1 billion or 34% had Germany as the

country of destination. It was the most important

market for the Polish egg producers, followed by

the Netherlands with a share of 21.3%. In 2010,

Spain exported 463 million eggs to Germany,

sharing 6.6% of the German import volume and

ranked as number three behind the Netherlands

and Poland. Spain could not maintain this

position however, for the total export volume

decreased sharply as can be seen in Table 19

(page.19). In 2012, it only exported 98 million

eggs to Germany, a contribution of only 1.6% to

the total German imports (MEG 2013).

23

Northern Europe

24,000 t

The main results of part 4 of this

analysis can be summarised as

follows:

• The political as well as economic

adaption processes in several Eastern

European countries and the Russian

Federation in addition to the banning

of conventional cages in the EU from

2012 onwards had considerable

impacts on the development of the

intra-continental egg trade.

• Export volume increased by

478,000 t or 75%, mainly as a

result of the sharp increase in

Western and Eastern Europe. The

growth in Western European egg

imports originated from the fast

growth of imports by Germany, the

Netherlands and Switzerland and

that of Eastern Europe due to the

increasing imports by the Czech

Republic, Russia and Poland.

• The banning of conventional cages

in Germany in 2010 and in the rest

of the EU in 2012 had remarkable

impacts on the European egg trade.

• In Poland and Spain, egg exports

decreased considerably between 2010

and 2012 whereas the Netherlands

expanded their export volume in

2010 to over 420,000 t because of the

high deficit in Germany.

• With the exception of Western

Europe, all other European sub-

regions showed a positive balance of

trade of shell eggs in 2011.

• How the balance of trade of eggs

developed in 2012 and 2013 in the

four sub-regions cannot be answered

yet due to the lack of reliable data for

countries outside the EU (27).

TABLE 23

Countries of destination for Dutch egg exports and countries of origin of German egg imports in 2012; data in million piecesSource: MEG 2013,

PVE 2013

EXPORTS BY THE NETHERLANDS IMPORTS BY GERMANYCOUNTRY OF EXPORTS SHARE COUNTRY OF IMPORTS SHAREDESTINATION (%) ORIGIN (%)

Germany 4,661 71.0 Netherlands 4,320 69.6Belgium/Lux. 295 4.5 Poland 958 15.4France 230 3.5 Belgium 398 6.4Switzerland 197 3.0 France 158 2.5UK 164 2.5 Spain 98 1.6

5 countries 5,547 84.5 5 countries 5,932 95.5

Total 6,565 100.0 Total 6,206 100.0


TABLE 24

The development of egg trade in the sub-regions of Europe between 2000 and 2011; data in 1,000 tSource: FAO database

EXPORTSYEAR WESTERN EASTERN SOUTHERN NORTHERN EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE TOTAL

2000 483 62 60 36 6412005 482 105 122 45 7542011 607 317 135 60 1,119

Increase (%) 25.7 411.3 125.0 66.7 74.6

IMPORTSYEAR WESTERN EASTERN SOUTHERN NORTHERN EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE TOTAL

2000 402 13 76 67 5582005 537 74 30 72 7132011 744 114 62 71 991

Change (%) +85.1 +776.9 -18.4 +6.0 +77.6

BALANCE OF TRADEYEAR WESTERN EASTERN SOUTHERN NORTHERN EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE EUROPE TOTAL

2000 +81 +49 -16 -31 +832005 -55 +31 +92 -27 +412011 -137 +203 +73 -11 +128

Change (1,000 t) -218 +154 +89 +20 +45

PART


5

24

Part 5 of the analysis will deal with future

challenges for the egg industry in Europe

and especially the EU (27).

The hope that the egg industry might enter a

quieter phase after the banning of conventional

cages did not come true. There are several new

challenges which the egg industry will have to

deal with in the coming years, and again, the

discussion has its origin in a limited number of

EU member countries.

One hot topic which is currently discussed

in several EU member countries is the beak

trimming (- treatment) of laying hens. In some

member countries, for example Austria, most of

the laying hens are no longer beak trimmed, this

is also the case for all layers in organic housing

systems and in most colony systems. In Austria,

problems with feather pecking and cannibalism

are controlled through light dimming, a practice

which is not permitted in Germany. In Denmark

only hens in colony nests are not beak trimmed.

In general a considerable scepticism against the

banning of beak treatment can be observed in

most EU (27) member countries. Nevertheless,

it can be expected that within a short time

period this practice will be challenged in the EU

in general. In Germany, beak treatment may be

prohibited by 2016, according to plans in Lower

Saxony and Northrhine-Westphalia.

A second hot topic is the stunning of one day old

chicks. When in the late 1950’s, hybridisation

in the USA produced the first breeds that were

characterised by a high laying performance and

a good health, it soon became apparent that the

male chicks were not suited for meat production

due to their poor feed conversion. For this

purpose other breeds were reared which reached

a high slaughtering weight in a short time at a

relatively low feed consumption. At the same

time, the keeping of laying hens in large flocks

resulted in the necessity to cull the males shortly

after hatching. Because of the growing opposition

against this practice, various research projects

were initiated to distinguish the future sex of a

chick either before or shortly after the beginning

of the hatching process. The technology to do this

is available but it is still too time-consuming and

cost-intensive.

In addition research is going on to find an

alternative use for the male chicks. Some

companies have presented a new dual-purpose

breed which is supposed to combine a high laying

performance of hens with sufficient fattening

characteristics of males. At the moment, the

laying performance lies, however, at only 250

eggs which is much lower than the average of

310 to 315 eggs of laying hybrids. Added to this

is the fact that the feed requirements are also

much higher so that feed costs per egg can be

assumed to be 30 to 40% above the average in

hybrid flocks. After 56 days, the weight of the

males reaches only 2.3 kg, a fattening hybrid

weighs already 3.2 kg after the same growing

time. This, and the fact that males have less

breast meat, limits their competitiveness. A quick

changeover of market-oriented egg producers to

the new breed is therefore not to be expected.

Future challenges for the egg industry in Europe and the EU (27)


So a technological solution will have to be found

within the next three to five years to make the

culling of male chicks unnecessary.

Additional problems for the egg industry in the

EU, especially in the post-industrial societies

in Northern and Western Europe, is a growing

opposition against large production facilities

and the environmental issues arising from the

regional concentration of intensive poultry

production in several regions in Central and

Western Europe.

It can be predicted that if the egg industry in

the EU does not find solutions to the above-

mentioned problems in due time, then policy will

step in and pass regulations which may result

in the loss of the license to produce in existing

systems.

Future challenges


The International Egg Commission, on

behalf of the global egg community,

defines social responsibility as

balancing the needs of people, animals

and the planet.

When evaluating our social

responsibility, we are passionate about:

1. Producing safely, the highest quality

protein.

2. Feeding the growing population, and

ensuring food affordability.

3. Providing choice.

4. Caring for the environment.

and

5. Ensuring the health and wellbeing

of our hens.

IEC Statement on Corporate and Social Responsibility

CSR


About the author References

Professor Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst

Professor Windhorst is the IEC Statistical

Analyst and was Director of the Institute

for Spatial Analysis and Planning in Areas

of Intensive Agriculture at the University of

Vechta, Germany until April 2009, an institute

that he founded in 1990.

In October 2012, he founded the Science

and Information Centre Sustainable Poultry

Production (WING) of the University of

Vechta, of which he is the Scientific Director.

Much of his work involves investigating

regional and sectoral patterns in the egg

industry.

He studied at the University of Muenster and

gained a PHD in 1969 and then gained a

postdoctoral qualification in 1977.

Professor Windhorst has had a long-standing

involvement with the IEC, and together with

Peter van Horne is developing the Economic

and Statistical service that the IEC provides

to members.

EMA-Marktbilanz 2013: Eier. Bonn 2013.

FAO database: www.faostat.fao.org

Directive 1999/74/EC: http://eur-lex.

europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.

do?uri=OJ:L:1999:203:0053:0057:EN:PDF

MEG-Marktbilanz Eier und Geflügel 2013.

Stuttgart 2013.

PVE (ed.): Livestock, Meat and Eggs in the

Netherlands. Annual Survey 2012. Zoetermeer

2013.

Windhorst, H.-W.: Like Phoenix from the ashes.

The recovery of the Dutch egg industry. In:

Zootecnica 32 (2010a), no. 1, S. 36-42.

Windhorst, H.-W.: Eierwirtschaft in Spanien

– ungewöhnlich dynamisch. In: Deutsche

Geflügelwirtschaft und Schweineproduktion 62

(2010b), DGS-Magazin, Februar, S. 27-33.

Windhorst, H.-W.: Banning of cages in

Germany and after. First results of the largest

economic field experiment in the egg industry.

In: International Egg Commission (ed.):

International Egg Market. Annual Review 2010.

London 2010c, S. 4-9.

Windhorst, H.-W.: Banning of cages in

Germany and after. In: Zootecnica 33 (2011),

no. 3, S. 40-43.

Windhorst, H.-W.: The Globalisation of Egg

Production and Egg Trade. ( IEC Special

Economic Report April 2013. London 2013.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Mr. Nicolas Sakoff (FAO,

Rome) for his support in collecting data for egg

production and egg trade on the global and

European scale. I also wish to thank Mrs. Anna

Wilke, my research associate, for preparing the

maps and graphs for this report.

PART

1

As a part of the egg industry, your business will increasingly need to be in touch with what is

happening locally, nationally and on the world stage.

With issues and opportunities happening fast in today’s global environment, access to a

reliable information stream and talking to the right people is crucial.

The organisation to facilitate this is The International Egg Commission - join today.

Call +44 (0) 20 7490 3493 or visit the website on www.internationalegg.com

The IEC Support Group provides a unique

opportunity to promote your company through

IEC publications, the IEC website and through

our annual conferences.

If you are interested in joining, please contact

Caron Floyd on +44 (0) 20 7490 3493

The IEC Support GroupWe would like to thank the following for their support

Interested in joining the IEC Support Group? Become a member of the IEC

The International Egg Commission89 Charterhouse StreetLondon EC1M 6HRUnited Kingdom

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