Germany's egg production up 1.4 percent in 2022

Published Mar 28, 2023

Tridge summary

In Germany, the preference towards egg production has seen a shift towards more spacious and ecological rearing methods, with barn husbandry still leading but experiencing a decline in favor of free-range and organically produced eggs. Despite avian influenza outbreaks impacting the industry, free-range egg production has seen a significant increase, reaching over 2.8 billion eggs in 2022, alongside a rise in the number of free-range laying hens. Organic egg production also grew, with a notable increase in the number of organic laying hens and eggs produced. However, the number of eggs produced under the small group rearing method has decreased due to a ban on this type of rearing, with a phase-out period in place until the end of 2025. This shift towards more spacious and ecological rearing methods reflects a growing demand for eggs produced under conditions that meet higher welfare standards.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Barn husbandry continues to be the dominant form of husbandry, free-range and ecological husbandry has increased significantly. With 59.7% of the eggs produced, barn husbandry was again the dominant form of husbandry in Germany, despite a reduced proportion. Five years ago, their share was 65.4%. Accordingly, the proportion of free-range eggs increased from 15.9% to 21.5% and organically produced eggs from 10.7% to 13.8% in the same period. The remaining 5% of the total production of table eggs was kept in small groups, which was 8% five years ago. The average stock of laying hens kept in barn systems fell by 1.4% in 2022 compared to the previous year to around 26.2 million animals. At the same time, the number of barn eggs fell by 2.1% to 7.9 billion eggs. After a decline in the previous year, the average number of free-range laying hens rose by almost 1 million to 9.5 million animals in 2022 (+11.7%). The number of free-range eggs rose by almost 299 million to a good 2.8 billion ...

Source: EuroMeat