Around the world, consumption of eggs in 2014 remains higher than a decade ago. This increase is particularly notable in developing countries where changing diets have people consuming a greater number of calories from protein sources like poultry meat and eggs.
In 2014, approximately 179 eggs per person were available for consumption globally. A majority of these eggs came from Asia, which has remained the world’s top regional egg supplier since 1998. The share of eggs supplied for consumption by large farms is projected to grow from just 4 percent in 2006 to 30 percent by 2020.
The United States, a leader in both consumption and production of eggs, saw its egg consumption rise since 2011 to a decade-long high of 263.3 eggs consumed per person in 2014. In 2015, however, the American Egg Board projects consumption will have fallen to 248.5 eggs per person annually. This consumption drop can be partially attributed to higher egg prices with a limited egg supply during the year as producers rebuild layer flocks affected by avian influenza at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015. Experts believe that although the rebuilding of layer flocks may not be complete until spring 2017, higher egg prices are likely only to last through the end of the year. In spite of movements toward organic foods, almost three-quarters of eggs used in the U.S. are those classified as non-organic.
The generally high consumption in these more mature markets like the U.S. reflects an extra uptake of eggs for processing, as well; in the U.S., for example, total egg production in 2014 was valued at $10.17 billion, of which processing accounts for more than one-third of all eggs used annually compared to just 11 percent in 1975 and 25 percent in 2005.
The rising egg consumption trend can be seen throughout North America. In Canada, where egg consumption volume sat at just 11.64 kg in 2010, about 13.35 kg of eggs were consumed in 2014.
A growing population and rising incomes has also supported increased egg use in the rest of the world. In Spain, at-home expenditure on eggs was estimated at 803 million euros (USD942.2 million) in 2014, notably above the 739.9 million euros (USD839.9 million) spent just a few years ago. Further, in the UK, for example, household spending on eggs has been on the increase almost annually since 2006. Per capita egg consumption in Brazil stood at 182 units in 2014, and the country’s Egg Institute hopes that by 2016, this figure will have risen to 208.
View interactive charts and download the datasets in the Market Data section of WATTAgNet:
US trend in average number of eggs consumed per person per year 1998-2015
Volume of eggs available for consumption per person in Canada 2010-14
Annual at-home expenditure on eggs in Spain 2011-14
Average weekly UK household egg expenditure trend 2006-13
Most used types of eggs in the US 2011-14
Annual egg consumption in French households 2008-14
Most used brands of eggs in the US 2011-14
