Date: 2009-11-19
By Don Bell
Egg production costs drop 9% due to lower ingredient prices.
The nine-month average UB Midwest Large price is 101 cents/dozen a 32% decrease over the nine month average of 2008. The months of May through September were below 100 cents per dozen offsetting the higher revenues through the first 4 months of 2009.
Nine month average production cost was .59 cents per dozen ranging from a high of 63.7 cents per dozen in June to the low of 57.0 cents per dozen in September. The approximately 9% reduction in production cost over the .68 cents recorded in 2008 is attributed to lower ingredient cost. Production costs peaked in June and July of 2008 at .73 cents per dozen.
Other current egg industry statistics:
- 155 million pullet chicks have been hatched to date representing a 2.6% decline over 2008.
- The 24-month previous hatch through August 2009 amounted to 459 million pullets, representing an increase of 8.3 million pullets over the 24 month cumulative hatch for August 2008. It is noted that this parameter is correlated to the Urner-Barry Midwest egg price.
- The average monthly transfer of pullets to layer houses is projected to attain 16.4 million for 2009 representing a 1.7% increase over the corresponding value for 2008.
- As of August 2009 the producing flock represented 276.6 million hens. The average to date is 280.3 million hens relatively unchanged for the first 8 months of 2008.
- Total egg production through the first months of 2009 amounted to 51.343 billion eggs a 0.9% increase over the first 8 months of 2008. Pullet transfers, hen numbers and egg production suggest restraint in expansion consistent with UB egg prices prevailing in 2009.
- An average of 24.4% of the national flock has been molted, relatively unchanged from 2008 but an approximately 12% reduction from 2007 resulting in a decrease weighted average flock age.
- 44 million hens have been depleted through August 2008, representing a 9% decrease over 2008 but a 13% reduction from the corresponding 8 month period in 2007.
- 44.4 million Cases of eggs were consigned to breakers or processed in in-line units during the first 8 months of 2009, a 2.2% reduction over January – August. Approximately 31% of total U.S. domestic consumption is further-processed.
Statistics reported by Don Bell, Poultry Specialist Emeritus, University of California, Riverside in University of California Poultry Memo, Number 82. E-mail Don at Don.Bell@ucr.edu
Updated: Nov 20, 2009
This article appeared in Egg Industry, November 2009. ©Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved.