FastFacts: Europe’s egg sector profiled

An analysis of the European egg market presented by Professor Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst in 2010 explained that Europe was the only continent not showing an increase in egg production between 1990 and 2007. Chart 1 from his report tracks how the regions of Europe differed in their development during these two decades.

1010 Pe Gdevelopmenteggproduction

An analysis of the European egg market presented by Professor Hans-Wilhelm Windhorst in 2010 explained that Europe was the only continent not showing an increase in egg production between 1990 and 2007. Chart 1 from his report tracks how the regions of Europe differed in their development during these two decades.

From 1992 to 2007, the members of the European Union increased their egg production by 341,000 metric tons, but the output volume from non-EU countries in Europe fell by 678,000 metric tons. As a result, in 2007 about 65% of the eggs produced in Europe came from the EU and 35% came from non-member countries.

In 1990, European countries provided one-third of global egg output. However, their combined share of the world total in 2007 was down to 16.7%.

The change is further emphasized by looking at the leading egg-producing countries in 1990 and 2007. The top three producers in 1990 were China, the former USSR and the USA, supplying 43% of all eggs, and three European countries were listed in the Top Ten. But in 2007, France was the only European country with a top-10 listing, and Asia now had three representatives on the list: China, India and Japan provided almost 46% of world production.

France went on to record a production of 947,000 metric tons of eggs in 2008. This fell to 943,000 metric tons in 2009 and was expected to stay at that level in 2010.

Page 1 of 52
Next Page