There are cases where shell egg exports have proved successful. Take, for example, egg exports to Syria, Iraq and Venezuela, markets with a tradition of egg consumption but where supply cannot match demand due to devastated local industries.
Simply making eggs available through export, however, may not always result in increased consumption, particularly where an understanding of their nutritional value is low.
In Africa, for example, battling food taboos is an additional challenge to raising egg consumption, and this is unlikely to be tackled by egg traders.
While consumers may benefit from egg exports, exporting shell eggs is probably not sustainable. Global trade in shell eggs fell by 17% during the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply chains continue to be at the mercy of various factors.
The impact of shipping shell eggs on the egg value chain’s overall environmental footprint may be minimal, but long-distance shipping of foods from richer producing countries may become ever-less socially acceptable.
Perhaps a better alternative would be for these well-served countries to offer technical and financial support to foster production in areas where it is currently weak.
Some countries still lack the basic requirements to build a local egg sector. Take, for example, Mozambique, a country of 31 million people that currently has no breeder flock or commercial hatchery. Every day-old chick or pullet at point of lay must come from neighboring countries.
The development of local industries is, however, mainly hampered by both legal and illegal imports, the latter through hard to control borders. This issue can, however, be resolved.
In the case of El Salvador, for example, producers switched to white-shelled eggs, while neighboring countries produce brown. Once consumers adopted the habit of consuming white eggs, the benefits accrued to El Salvador’s producers.
What the figures say
Most shell eggs are still produced and consumed locally.
In 2020, world trade in eggs accounted for only 2.4% of global production. This is significantly lower than, for example, chicken meat, where 12.1% is exported, or lentils, where 77.9% is exported.
Most global trade in shell eggs occurs within the 27 Member States of the European Union, which account for almost 61% of the total, and within Asia, where 29.9% of global trade occurs. In both cases relatively short distances are travelled to reach export markets.
Within the top five exporting countries, Turkey, Poland, the U.S., the Netherlands and Uzbekistan, all but the U.S. have allocated a large portion of their egg production to export, ranging from 17.4% in Turkey to 29.9% in Poland.
Some major egg producing countries, such as Brazil, are now considering building on their expertise in broiler exports to increase opportunities for their egg producers.
Opportunities to raise consumption
The latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that each person on the planet consumes 185 eggs per year, but there are huge differences between individual continents and countries.
While Mexicans consume slightly more than one egg on a daily basis, there are 55 countries around the world where people have access to less than one egg per week.
Consumers in North America enjoy the highest annual consumption, with 284 eggs, while the lowest average annual consumption is in Africa, with only 44 eggs per person.
How laying hens are kept around the world
