The 2020 global egg production and consumption data from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will not be available for a few months, yet we already have data to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the egg sector.
With more than 80 member countries, the International Egg Commission, which represents egg producers from around the world, certainly has its finger on the egg sector’s pulse, and the data submitted by its members is a unique and invaluable source of information.
Calculating consumption
At a national level, calculation of annual per capita egg consumption is made by adding the number of shell eggs consumed to the estimated number of eggs eaten as egg products and in prepared dishes and meals containing eggs as an ingredient.
In countries or regions where the egg processing sector is well developed, for example North America, Europe and Japan, 20-50% of total egg consumption comes from egg-containing food products.
A high volume of egg products is typically used by the food service sector, including restaurants, hotels and the catering industry, and these sectors were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with a sharp reduction in activity. What were the effects on the egg sector?
Who’s up and who’s down?
In several countries, including the U.S., Canada, France and Spain, egg consumption decreased in 2020 compared with 2019. The fall in these countries ranged from -2 eggs in Canada to -11 eggs in Spain. In Canada, this was the first decrease in more than 10 years while, in the U.S., it was a first since 2015.
As expected, the reduction was driven by a sharp decrease in egg product consumption: -4% in France, -10.4% in the U.S., -14.1% in Canada and -32.7% in Spain. Significant increases in shell egg sales were also recorded, up by 1% in the U.S., +5.8% in Canada and +17.6% in Spain. However, this was not enough to compensate for the losses in egg products.
Not all countries with a vibrant egg sector were so severely affected.
Italians consumed seven more eggs each, up by 3.3%, the Danes ate three more eggs per head, up by 1%, while in Japan two more eggs per person were consumed, an increase of 0.6%. While consumption of egg products may have fallen, this was not by enough to stop overall consumption expanding.
In countries with a less-developed egg processing sector, often linked to a lower median income level, eggs are always among the best and cheapest animal protein sources.
Time and again, it has been observed that economic downturns and inflation always lead to an increase in egg consumption, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception.
In Colombia, for example, annual egg consumption increased by an amazing 33 eggs per person between 2019 and 2020. Brazil, with an increase of 21 eggs, and Argentina and Iran, with 20 eggs more per person, were not far behind.
These levels of annual increases are unheard of, and no well-designed promotional campaign would have been able to achieve these results. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought more consumers to the egg counter in retail stores; it is now up to the egg sector to make the most of this and retain these customers.
