Global egg production records a decade of strong growth

Global egg production increased over the last decade, FAO data shows, but this increase was not even among countries.

The Vietnamese egg industry was amongst the best performing in 2018-2019. | Vincent Guyonnet
The Vietnamese egg industry was amongst the best performing in 2018-2019. | Vincent Guyonnet

Each year, the release of a fresh batch of data from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an opportunity to review the global egg sector’s progress and to celebrate the achievements of a few far away countries not always known for their egg production. 

Between 2009 and 2019, the egg sector grew by 32.7%, ahead of all other terrestrial animal production except chicken meat (+42.2%).  

With additional production of 20.6 million metric tons of eggs, the global industry has been able to provide, on average, each individual on our planet with 45 more eggs over the period or about 2.7 kg of eggs.  

This increase, however, is not evenly distributed across nations.  

Of the 195 countries and territories reported in the FAO database, egg production increased in 145, decreased in 49, and remained flat in one, the island nation of Dominica.  Dominica, sandwiched between Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, is home to 72,000 people and about 20,000 hens. Annual consumption in Dominica is about 72 eggs per person, at a par with India (77 per person) but well below the world average of 168. 

Mexico continues to record the highest per capita egg consumption with 372 eggs, up by 17 over 10 years.  The same 17 eggs represent about twice the annual per capita consumption in Ethiopia.  

China's growth continues

In what has become a tradition since the mid-1980s, China (+5.1 million tonnes) again drove global growth, adding more eggs than the combined efforts of 129 nations that also grew over the period.  

Where percentage increase over the decade is concerned, the top award again goes to the Kingdom of Bhutan. The mountainous landlocked nation, between India and China, saw its production increase by 793%. 

Mongolia (+418%) and Kuwait (+286%) complete the list of top 3 nations by percentage increases. Overall, 67 countries, from all continents, grew their egg production at a rate above that of the 32.7% global average. Some of the largest production decreases, however, were reported from countries with a tradition for egg production, Venezuela (-19.1%) and Syria (-24.3%), both devastated by political turmoil.

When comparing 2018 and 2019, the global industry grew by 3.5%, adding 2.8 million metric tons of eggs to the food supply - or slightly more than Japan’s entire annual production.  

A total of 55 countries grew at a rate faster than the world average.  In addition to São Tomé and Príncipe (+78.7%) off the Western coast of Africa, the Cook Islands (+77.8%), in the Pacific Ocean, added about 1,600 hens to its flock to provide more fresh eggs for its 20,000 citizens. Equatorial Guinea (+47.9%), between Cameroon and Gabon, completed the list of the top 3 highest growth countries.   

In one year alone, China added another 1.6 million metric tons of eggs – equivalent to the combined production of Spain and the U.K. - while India added 538,065 metric tons of eggs, the equivalent of the annual production of South Africa, home to 27.6 million hens.  Overall, Asia, now home to 61.9% of global egg production, accounted for the bulk of growth, representing 83.1% of the total   

In 2022, FAO data will account for the impact of COVID-19 and its disruptive effects on farming communities. Let’s hope that the egg world has been able to cope and that the next report will continue to show progress towards providing great nutrition and income around the world. 

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