Africa

While Africa accounts for one in six of the world's human population, many live in the poorest countries in the world, so it is not surprising to find that the average egg consumption/person at only 2.2kg is well below the world figure (table 1).

Although many questions can be levied at the consumption data, the indications are that the quantities of eggs eaten per person have shown an upward trend from 2.0kg back in 2000 to today's 2.2kg level. This has been quite an achievement for African egg producers, bearing in mind that the human population increased from around 820 million to 1,033 million between 2000 and 2010. By 2015, the population will have expanded by a further 11 per cent to around 1,150 million so egg industries in this region face quite a challenge to even maintain average consumption at the current level.

In keeping with all the other regions of the world, there is quite a variation in the uptake/person between the countries, though it is heartening to see that the average since 2000 has either remained stable or increased in the majority of them, with only a handful recording a reduction.

While population growth can be taken for granted the real key to any increase in the demand for eggs will be further improvements in living standards, especially among the poor.

Oceania

Egg consumption figurers are available for only a handful of countries in this region and the average, while moving upwards during the past decade, appears to have lagged behind the world figure by some 2kg per person per year (table 1).

It is surprising to see the FAO figure for Australia was low as 6.3kg per person in 2007. Recent estimates of egg production and consumption from an Australian authority points to an average figure of possibly 10.5kg at that time, and close to 12kg today.

Otherwise, in the other countries for which egg consumption has been calculated, good growth has been recorded since 2000, with the exception of New Zealand. But, as with Australia, the FAO's estimates of egg production are well below those released by a national egg organisation in New Zealand. For the latter, it is calculated that average uptake is currently around 14kg per person.

Should these estimates for Australia and New Zealand be close to the actual figures, then the current average for Oceania will now be approaching 10kg per person, and above the likely global average of around 9.3kg.

Developments in per capita egg consumption in Africa and Oceania compared to the global average

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