IEC Looks At Egg Industry Developments In North America
This brief overview of the International Egg Commission’s (IEC) meeting in Shanghai, China summarizes recent developments in the North American egg industry. Animal welfare concerns continue to effect the egg industry in both Canada and the United States, but they do not currently have a major impact on consumers or the market in Mexico.
More than 370 participants from 36 countries attended the International Egg Commission’s annual meeting in Shanghai, China. Highlights of the reports from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are presented below.
Canada
- The Canadian egg industry is working to get the government to provide compensation to producers if flocks are destroyed as the result of avian influenza.
- The industry is paying close attention to World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations as a new deal could undermine the current supply-management system.
- Efforts are underway to establish a national traceability system.
- The industry is disseminating facts about egg production to the food sector in an effort to address proposed amendments to the Criminal Code that could impact egg farming.
USA
- The U.S. egg industry continues to consolidate. Current estimates say there are about 200 companies with an average flock size of one million layers per site. The top 60 companies represent 85% of all eggs produced.
- The top 10 U.S. food retailers sell 75% of all food.
- Environmental regulations are likely to continue to affect the industry, regardless of who is elected as the next U.S. president.
Mexico
- Sanitation continues to be one of the most important challenges in this region.
- Mexico has large egg facilities, but many farms are run as they were 30-40 years ago. About 6-7% of production goes to processing, but the industry is trying to persuade customers to use products instead of shell eggs.
- Animal welfare is currently not a significant concern for consumers in Mexico.