GLOBAL POULTRY TRENDS - New Products Will Boost Sales of Egg Products in the Americas

Approximately 20 per cent of all the eggs produced in the Americas go into egg products, writes Terry Evans, exclusively for ThePoultrySite. Total output of products is in the region of 2.0 million tonnes (around 42 per cent of the world total), of which some 1.6 million tonnes is produced in North America - almost all in the US - and some 340,000 tonnes in South America, of which nearly half is produced in Mexico.
calendar icon 3 May 2011
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USA

Egg product producers in the USA have continued to build products that lead to increased sales. Examples of products with expanding uptake include enzyme-modified egg yolk powder; food-service products such as egg patties, pre-scrambled egg products and hard cooked eggs. Major restaurant chains like Starbucks, Wendy’s, Burger King, Carl Jr. and McDonalds continue to roll out new breakfast products, which have helped lead restaurant profits and growth, as consumers are tempted by products like cooked egg white on panini bread and breakfast sandwiches.

Technology is becoming ever more important as end-users demand functional egg products. In America, some 30 to 32 per cent of all eggs are broken out and this development has seen major in-line facilities built where the egg are transferred directly from the chicken houses to breakers, and then to spray-drying or egg product production at the same facilities.

Major producers of egg products include the largest, Michael Foods, Rembrandt Foods, Sonstegard, Wabash Valley, Deb-El, American Egg/Texas Egg, Henningsen Foods, Sparboe, Rose Acres, Oskaloosa, Willamette, National Foods, Primera, Deb-El, and Cargill Kitchens/Sunnyfresh.

Exports from the United States were fairly large in the beginning of 2010 with egg products leading the way. Major markets buying from the US included Europe (Germany/UK, Italy) Japan and, to a lesser extent, Mexico and Canada. Products being exported included spray-dried yolk powder, frozen salt and sugar yolk in one-tonne totes, and spray dried egg white powder (High gel).

Faced with the challenges of how to deal with animal rights activists, the impact of the economic crisis on consumer buying, and high grain costs, US egg producers will have their work cut out to continue to grow their marketplace and help assure a dependable supply of eggs.

Canada

Canada continues to be one of the few countries of the region with supply management and they have a stable shell egg production pattern. With consumption of eggs estimated at 16.1 dozen per consumer in 2009, they have their production set to produce sufficient eggs for consumers and use import permits and exports to maintain their supply stability.

Canadian egg products producers include Burnbrae Farms, Michael Foods/Canadian Innovatech, Trilogy, Vanderpol Egg, Global Egg and Cargill Kitchens/Sunnyfresh. Egg products are estimated to account for 30 per cent of the total egg production usage.

Canada is a major exporter of egg products with Japan, the US and Venezuela as major customers. Canada is also involved in extraction of lysozyme from egg whites and other products from eggs.

Canada’s egg organisations, especially the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CEMA), have played an important role in promoting eggs.

Mexico

In Mexico, consumers have a strong preference for fresh shell eggs so it is not surprising to find that just eight to 10 per cent of eggs go for processing. Major egg products producers include Avibel/Proan, Alimentos de la Granaja, Alidesa-Procesadora and Ovoplus. This country continues to expand its use of egg products in food manufacturing. Mexico has also started to export shell eggs to Africa and Asia, as well as egg products, mainly to Europe and Asia (especially Japan). A major problem has been gaining the cooperation of the Mexican government on documentation and inspection, as world governments demand additional paperwork which, not being a major exporter, Mexico has not previously produced. Among Latin American countries, Mexico has been to the forefront in expanding the use of eggs as part of the national diet and it can be anticipated that its egg industry will continue to grow under a young but progressive leadership.

We are indebted to Dean Hughson for the information about the egg products business in the Americas. He is vice-president of Purchasing/Sales for Henningsen Foods in Omaha, Nebraska and a 32-year member of the egg industry. He is a former chairman of the Further Processors division of United Egg Association and editor of the book, ‘It All Began With An Egg’. He can be reached at [email protected].

May 2011

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