The United States Egg Marketers completed its fourth export order since last fall April 17, with 200 containers to be shipped to Europe, Japan, and other nations. The total of containers now has reached 890 since last fall. Each container contains 800 cases.

“The most before we’ve had is one or two a year, and now we’ve had four within six months,” says Gene Gregory, President and CEO of United Egg Producers, Atlanta. There were no USEM exports from February 2003 until October 2006. “My gut feeling is that yes, there is more to come,” he says.

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Gregory lists several reasons why he thinks the export deals have recently occurred: flock reductions due to animal welfare issues in Europe; the fact that most countries look to the U.S. eggs as being high in quality; the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies; and “our producers are willing to sell at a discounted price.”