Eggs are a $10 billion 'low-margin industry,' says analyst. Here's who profits (2024)

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Eggs are a $10 billion 'low-margin industry,' says analyst. Here's who profits? ›

Eggs are a $10 billion 'low-margin industry,' says analyst. Here's who profits. Egg prices rose significantly in 2022: Consumers paid $4.30 on average for a dozen Grade A large eggs in December, compared to $1.80 a year earlier, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

At the time, a farm group alleged that price gouging and profiteering among major egg suppliers also drove high prices in 2022, though some economists were skeptical that factor was at play.

Today just 59 companies represent 87% of all egg production, and the four largest corporations claimed 28% of egg sales. Mississippi-based Cal-Maine leads the industry with around 16% of sales and more than 40 million hens.

Maybe you've been raising laying hens for your family and wanted to expand, or perhaps you're starting fresh with a new flock and already know you want to get into the business of selling eggs. Either way, raising chickens who produce farm-fresh eggs can be a fun and profitable venture.

The lawsuits against Eggland's Best allege that independent testing revealed the company's eggs contain more saturated fat than what's claimed on the packaging. The Organic Consumers Association's complaint adds that testing showed Eggland's Best eggs also contain more cholesterol and calories than claimed.

For the producers in Jema'a LGA, the average revenue was 202,595.50, average cost was 138,492.13 and the average profit margin was 64,103.37 per 100 layers. The coefficient of variation of revenue, cost and profit margin was 4.8%, 7.2% and 21.4% respectively.

Much like the animal agriculture industry as a whole, factory egg farms have major environmental consequences. For every egg consumed, a half a pound of greenhouse gases are produced. Aside from the large amounts of ammonia and carbon dioxide produced, the egg industry also uses large amounts of pesticides.

While bird flu is generally the main culprit for the price of eggs going up, there are other factors, such as the cost of labor and the high price of chicken feed.

California's cage free laws implemented on Jan. 1, 2022 also contributed to especially high prices in the Golden State. AB1437 required all eggs sold in the state come from hens living in cage-free barns. This in turn resulted in a smaller pool of sellers CA grocers can purchase eggs from, in turn driving prices up.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., the nation's largest producer and distributor of fresh eggs, announced the positive test result for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at its Parmer County, Texas facility on Tuesday.

Who is the largest egg manufacturer? ›

1 - Cal-Maine Foods. Cal-Maine Foods is the largest producer and marketer of shell eggs in the United States. Its operations consist of hatching chicks; growing and maintaining flocks of pullets, layers and breeders; manufacturing feed; and producing, processing, packaging and distributing shell eggs.

Cal-Maine is by far the largest egg producer in the U.S., owning more than 75% more egg-producing hens than the next largest company, according to industry publication Watt Poultry. Egg prices spiked in late 2022 and early this year, as consumers paid 70% more for eggs in January 2023 compared to January 2022.

Farmworker Egg Producing Farms make the most in San Jose, CA at $148,697 averaging total compensation 97% greater than US average.

If you wanted to get about a dozen eggs per week, you would need between 3 to 5 laying hens. For two dozen eggs a week, you would need to double those numbers for a flock size of between 6 to 10 laying hens.

One of the largest producers of eggs in the U.S., Cal-Maine Foods, has seen over 700 percent increase in profits due to the rising cost of the food item. The jokes about eggs becoming a luxury item aren't baseless claims.

The global eggs market size is Expected to grow from $150.84Bn to $222.86Bn by 2032, demonstrating a CAGR of 5.40% during 2024-2032.

China: China is the largest egg-producing country in the world, producing around 462 billion eggs annually.