China could soon have a series of futures exchanges for eggs, said Wayne Liu, CEO China of the Sanovo-Lactosan Group, speaking at the International Egg Commission London Conference.
The first eggs futures exchange was set up in Hubei province in May, and there are calls for other provinces to follow suit.
The move follows the record high in egg prices in China in 2011. In 2012, although prices have declined, they rose sharply from mid-August through mid-September, leading to the local moniker “Rocket Egg.”
Egg production is undergoing significant change in China, shifting from the traditional areas of north and north-east China to further south, closer the main centers of population. Currently, there are in excess of 1 million new layer projects planned or already underway, and farms with excess of 1 million birds are “cropping up all over China.” Alongside this expansion, the local egg market is increasingly regulated and various standards are being introduced, particularly relating to food safety and disease control.
China is thought to have 1.4 billion birds and a production of 24 million tons of birds annually.
