# Eggs: Overview

Breakfast, cake mix, and the eggs that grow vaccines

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/overview/

What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.

#### Key uses

| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Table shell eggs and egg products for food (retail, food service, bakery, mayonnaise, pasta)** | 85.7% | about 7.5 billion dozen in the USbasis | Eggs are the cheapest animal protein per gram in most countries and need no cooking skill or refrigeration in many climates. Breaking plants turn some into liquid and powdered egg for bakeries and food makers, who need the binding, foaming and emulsifying properties. USDA WASDE, Oct 2026 | Pulses and dairy (protein) Plant-based egg replacers (bakery) Modified starches and gums (binding) |
| **Hatching eggs for broiler and layer chicks** | 13.3% | about 1.16 billion dozen in the USbasis | Every broiler starts as a fertile egg from a parent flock, so a large share of eggs never reaches a kitchen. The figure tracks chicken meat output rather than egg demand. USDA WASDE, Oct 2026 | None: chicks require hatching eggs |
| **Exports** | 2.3% | about 0.2 billion dozen from the USbasis | Eggs are fragile and perishable, so only a small share is traded, mostly within regions (the Netherlands to Germany, Turkey to the Middle East). Egg powder travels further. USDA WASDE, Oct 2026; UN Comtrade 2024 | Domestic production |
| **Vaccine production and other non-food uses** | n/a | n/a basis | Many influenza vaccines are still grown in specific-pathogen-free fertile eggs, a small but strategic use. Egg membranes and yolk also go into supplements and cosmetics. | Cell-culture and recombinant vaccine platforms |

 Shares are for the US in 2025 (USDA WASDE), the only large market with a published supply-use balance; they sum to over 100% because 2025 imports (120.9 million dozen) added to supply.

#### From field to user

1. **Breeder and pullet flocks** Specialist breeders supply layer chicks, which are reared as pullets for several months until they start laying.
2. **Laying flocks** The world had 8.65 billion laying hens in 2024; average output was 205 eggs per hen a year, 290 in the US, 218 in India and 184 in China (FAOSTAT).
3. **Collection, grading and packing** Eggs are collected daily, washed or cleaned, candled, sized and packed.
4. **Breaking and processing** Some eggs are broken into liquid, frozen or dried products for food makers.
5. **Distribution** Eggs move by road to retailers, food service and, in India, wholesale traders who supply small shops.
6. **Consumption** World output was about 1.78 trillion eggs (93.7 Mt) in 2024 (FAOSTAT); US use was 263.8 eggs per person in 2025 (WASDE).

#### Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
 World production 1.77 bn 1000 No, 2024 Largest producer China 34.76% of world

#### Three things to know

- The world laid about 1.78 trillion hen eggs in 2024, nearly triple the 649 billion of 1990 (FAOSTAT).
- China laid 34.8% of the world's hen eggs in 2024, more than the next five countries combined.
- Germany took 18.3% of world egg import value in 2024, a sign that most egg trade is short-haul within Europe.

#### Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

- [Cal-Maine Posts Another Quarterly Loss as Low Egg Prices Persist](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMipAFBVV95cUxNZXZ5LWw1VmxaYjZSN3F0SnpWOEx1cHNXZWhmd0JSMTZsWGY1dDNhMU9qeElEeHNNNWJnVDBXeWctQnZkZU5wZkVVQnlrMHhReW1vS0xFMDAtaDY1Q3FhVnlVRERFMnlldjd3VzkwSzI2RmVwUXdqcW5OdXR4YnRaQlhmRTNwZnlHNkhMajFKX3Zxd3N4UldyRXM0dkdRdGZTcXE4Mw?oc=5)WSJ · 2026-09-30
- [Cal-Maine Foods Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings loss](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicEFVX3lxTE9ZbHMyX000dllTY2ZVYkdjQUlGUmUwMHYxVnVHZURpOXVzX1FKM1I0MzZLdWNycHdaRTJyQ3BuZHF5Zk9DNUxDZVI4Y2stQzMxM1JtTHAtSWlCX204UE9QdGhrWDFmaDNrUmZTUlAzMzU?oc=5)Quartz · 2026-09-30
- [Maybe There Was an Egg Cartel After All](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiogFBVV95cUxPLVF3TnB4TXhZQWpBMkVka0ZpaTZCVFdUaDV2bVJKZW1hTF8wNGctblhhV3dWZ1lpZ3NnUFFZRzRJOEJzbzI4Z0xBcGNKUS1yNm1LNlI2NGFZM01UQkdwYkpJSHFiSk5fQlZTRGhVWHBOOGpIR21RRmt6UFZVeDhScjBlNlJ4YjF5VUdic1BKdF9ESlM3Ty1HLXBxdWVpcWJoeEE?oc=5)Politico · 2026-10-18
- [Egg prices dropped. Really.](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiakFVX3lxTE1YMkdtNklIQTltaWZIeXp6QVYwMnZtVEk2LVc3cmdRam9lNDRjMmsyYlFFcUNIVzJqVWpROVNCMGVrRWs3OENRUjlQWkxuNDhhRVBreG9NQkJndVpTYzllREIzWWtJUnMwVkE?oc=5)Axios · 2026-10-20
- [Cheap Eggs Ahead of Election Season Weigh on US’s Top Producer](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiswFBVV95cUxOMUVKcHlTdG9aeDhYRkxtNkdzYXhrTVFkTUhURFVibEVVbS1BamtXVDlZLWtYcHRkSGwtN1Exc1EtWmM4cTkyYnVkenNRSWlJNl81Z2RYQmhOLVRGNnRtSzgteWxxVGp5VmxSU0pwTEtzMUJ6bkhPNHMtUmRNcjlhTDA3YVZhb2F2Y2l6TnZ3cE9IdU5IUXdHcVFOWVZFaTN2MEtUOURYTGsxdFlCeGU4RG84SQ?oc=5)Bloomberg.com · 2026-09-30

#### Read the tabs
[Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/extraction/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/production/)[Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/stocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/movement/)[Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/criticality/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/emissions/)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/eggs/links/index.md)