The largest 10 egg-producing companies in Latin America had 123.7 million layers in production in 2021, according to the WATT Top Poultry Companies database, accounting for over 24.3% of the total Latin American laying flock of almost 508.4 million.
While the percentage has been relatively stable over recent years, a slow, but constant, concentration in production has occurred, albeit at far lower levels than in the broiler industry.
Mexico’s Proteína Animal (Proan) accounts for 29.1% of the Latin American top 10 layer flock. In fact, Mexican companies now account for over half the top 10 ranking, given that the country’s Grupo Crío has entered the ranking at tenth place, pushing out Peru’s Avícola La Calera.
Of the remaining companies, three are Brazilian and one is Colombian.
Not all are exclusively dedicated to hen egg production. For example, the Mexican companies Proan, Bachoco – the only company to appear in the Latin American top 10 for eggs and broilers – and Gena Agropecuaria produce chicken, pork, beef and mutton, while Brazil’s Granja Yabuta, in addition to regular eggs, also produces quail and caipira or free-range eggs.
Proan also produces processed eggs, for example egg powders, while Incubadora Santander produces pasteurized shell eggs, as well as liquid eggs. Grupo Mantiqueira sells nutrient enriched eggs.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and associated lockdowns, resulted in an increase in egg consumption in the region. For example, in Mexico per capita egg consumption reached 409 eggs in 2021, up from 377 the year before. This higher demand for eggs, in many cases, resulted from marketing through new channels, for example via apps, and consumers switching to cheaper proteins, however, in some countries, layer flocks contracted, for example in Brazil or Colombia.
The top 10 producers almost exclusively produce for their domestic markets, although there are some exports from Brazil.
1. Proteína Animal (Proan)
Proteína Animal (PROAN) is the largest fresh egg producer in Mexico and ranks second globally, with 36 million Bovans layers. It is a family-owned multi-protein business with pork and milk production. Located in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco – the center of Mexico’s largest egg producing area – the company has a modern feed mill as well as an egg-product plant. Proan also produces egg packaging and, in addition to serving retail, also serves the foodservice sector.
2. Industrias Bachoco
Mexico’s Industrias Bachoco has 12.5 million layers in production. Located in Celaya, Guanajuato, in central Mexico, it is also the largest broiler producer in the country with 627 million broilers slaughtered last year and ranking third largest in Latin American broiler production. Due to a strong advertising campaign, Bachoco is the best-known egg brand in the country. The company has over 1,000 production and distribution facilities organized into nine complexes throughout Mexico. Recently, it expanded its scope by acquiring fellow Mexican company RYC Alimentos, producer of meat cuts, ham and sausages, which sells into foodservice and retail. In the U.S., the company owns OK Foods and Morris Hatchery.
3. Grupo Mantiqueira
Located in Primavera do Leste, Minas Gerais, Grupo Mantiqueira is Brazil’s largest egg producer. The company has 11.5 million Hy-Line, Bovans and Hisex layers. The company recently created a new distribution system called Clube Mantiqueira em casa, or Mantiqueira club at home, which allows consumers, foodservice and wholesalers to order eggs online and have them delivered. The company has been in the market for more than 34 years and now distributes more than 3 billion eggs per year through eight distribution units.
4. Empresas Guadalupe
Empresas Guadalupe is located in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, and has 11 million Hy-Line layers. It has been in the market for more than 40 years. The company distributes eggs to the main supermarket chains as well as to convenience stores.
5. El Calvario
With more than 70 years in business, El Calvario is located in Tehuacán, in Mexico’s second largest egg producing region, Puebla. It has hatchery facilities, a feed mill, packaging plant and farms with 10 million layers. It provides ISO 22000-certified eggs in various presentations and packaging sizes, as well as vitamin-enriched eggs and cage-free eggs. El Calvario has nine distribution centers in Central, South and Southeastern Mexico.
6. Granja Yabuta
Granja Yabuta started 47 years ago and, along with Granja Faria, ranks second in its home country of Brazil. The company has 10 million Dekalb, Hisex, Hy-Line, Novogen, Bovans, Lohmann and ISA layers in production. Its production units are located in four states and nine cities. In the state of São Paolo it operates from Bastos, also home to its headquarters, Rancharia, Queiroz and Rinópolis, while in Mato Grosso, it has operations in Poxoréo and Sinop. In Mato Grosso do Sul it has sites in Ivinhema and Jateí, and it also operates from Angico in Tocantins. Each location has its own feed mill and egg processing center. Yabuta produces regular eggs and eggs enriched with omega 3 and vitamin E, as well as free-range (caipira) and quail eggs.
7. Gena Agropecuaria
Located in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, the egg capital of Mexico, Gena Agropecuaria has 10 million Hy-Line layers in production and markets its eggs under four different brands. A multi-protein company, it produces pork, beef and mutton, in addition to eggs.
8. Granja Faria
Granja Faria has 10 million layers in production and is located in Lauro Muller, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Granja Faria is a group of companies with various brands and was established in 2006. It has expanded both organically and by acquisition. Its range includes regular and free-range eggs and fitness products containing egg albumen. It also produces fertile eggs, day old chicks and broilers.
9. Incubadora Santander
Incubadora Santander is the largest egg producer in Colombia and is part of ISSA Group. It has 7 million Hy-Line layers in production. The company, located in Bucaramanga, markets eggs under the Kikes brand and has 13 distribution centers across the country. The origins of the company are unusual – raising hens was the starting point of producing fertilizers, but egg production has now become the company’s main business.
10. Grupo Crío
Mexico’s Grupo Crío, located in Merida, Yucatán, comprises two companies, egg producer Productora Nacional de Huevo and broiler company Pollo Industrializado de México. Productora Nacional de Huevo has 5.7 million Bovans layers in production. The vertically integrated company owns the Crío brand, and it also offers cage-free eggs. It is the 6th largest egg company in Mexico. Pollo Industrializado de México produces Hubbard broilers. The company sells fresh and frozen parts and whole chickens, along with value-added products.
