News for the Egg Industry Worldwide
July 2007/Volume 112 Number 7
Major Changes in Global Egg Production
Industry News
Mycotoxins Revisited
UEP: Congress Should Expand
Cellulose Research for Ethanol
Salmonella is Declining in Ireland
Industry Calendar
Marketplace
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Major Changes in Global Egg Production
China, India, and Mexico Post Big Gains
By Edward Clark, Editor
China, the world’s No. 1 egg producer has boosted output 67.8 percent
over the past decade. India, No. 3,
is up 66.6 percent, with Mexico, No. 5 on
the list of the largest egg producing nations, up 83.3 percent. This growth illustrates how rapidly the developing world
is gaining egg production market share
over the developed world, according to
1995 to 2005 data recently released from
the Food and Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations.
Looking at the developed world, meanwhile, production in the United States,
the world’s No. 2 egg producing nation,
was up 20.7 percent over the period; Japan, No. 4, was down 3. 4 percent and the
only top 10 egg producing nation to lose
production over the period. Looking at
Europe, France as No. 9, was up a modest 2 percent over the period. (For a look
at other nations, see chart.)
Global egg production has been exploding in recent decades, tripling since
1970 and, “Within a few years the production volume will be higher than that
of beef and veal if the growth rates remain fairly constant,” according to Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst, in his report
Patterns of Egg Production and Trade for
the International Egg Commission (IEC).
Windhorst, the IEC’s statistical analyst,
says in the spring 2007 status report that
developing nations surpassed developed
nations in egg production in the 1990s
and now have a 67.7 percent global production share.
30,000
Global Egg Production (1,000 tonnes)
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
How the Top 10 Nations Compare on Egg Production
2005
1995
0
United States
India
Russian
Federation
Indonesia
Mexico
France
Japan
Brazil
Spain
China
The above chart shows that developing nations such as China, India, and Mexico have
dramatically increased their egg production over the past decade. Source: Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
But egg production in the developing egg production, Europe’s share had fallen
world “hasbeen very imbalanced,” Wind- to 16. 8 percent, and North and Central
horst says. “The only winning continent America to 13. 6 percent. Windhorst says
was Asia. North and Central America that North and Central America, which
lostconsiderableamountsoftheirformer had been able to gain higher market
market share,” he says. Europe was still shares until 1990, “have not been able to
the No. 1 continent in egg production in hold their position in spite of an almost
1970, but lost this title in the early 1980s. continuous growth of the production vol-In 2005, Asia had 60 percent of global ume.” He notes that regional concentra-
