MRIRW: in connection with the information that has late emerged in the media and related to alleged egg deficits in the retail trade, we explain: possibly noticeable deficiencies may only apply to eggs derived from free-range farming, which may be the consequence of the activities of the commercial networks which have withdrawn caged eggs from their offer. Unfortunately, obtaining safe food at a price acceptable to consumers, which is only the implementation of ideological slogans, brings with it the turmoil we are now witnessing in many countries of the world.
Size of egg production in Poland
Poland has been an exporter of consumer eggs for years – about 40% of home production goes to abroad customers. According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance in 2024, Poland exported 238.6 1000 tonnes of eggs worth EUR 471.9 million, an increase of 7.5% compared to 2023.
According to the data of the Institute of Economics of Agriculture and Food Economy – the State investigation Institute in Poland, the production of consumer eggs is estimated at 550-560 1000 tonnes per year.
Increase in egg prices
Traditionally, the already expanding outbreaks of avian influenza and pre-Christmas periods affect higher egg prices. This concerns the full European Union market. According to data from the European Commission at the turn of February and March this year, the average egg price in packing centres was 13.1 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Response of the manufacture to the situation on the egg market
The increase in the number of hens recorded by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) at the beginning of this year shows that the manufacture reacted both to increased request and to the request to rebuild the flocks of laying hens. Information on possible deficiencies may be related to free-range eggs and this problem may increase.
Cage breeding as a solution to chicken diseases
Once again, it should be pointed out that caged rearing has been introduced as a solution to serious problems with illness decimating herds in the past. Avian influenza is simply a illness present in Poland throughout the year and poses a fatal threat to chickens outside hens. It is for this reason that orders are introduced in subsequent counties of the United Kingdom to lock chickens in hens, and in 1 U.S. state the authorities have allowed to return to cage farming. It is simply a safer form of breeding for birds and gives more opportunities to get cheaper eggs, without the hazard of being transmitted, inter alia, by chaotic birds and rodents with illness viruses destroying full poultry flocks.
