Ukrainian egg market hit with oversupply

Following nearly 2 years of shortage, the Ukrainian egg market has started experiencing oversupply, Yevhen Khailov, sales director of Incuba, a local egg manufacturer, revealed. The surplus is felt despite record-breaking exports.

Ukraine is now manufacturing over 100 million eggs per month, Khailov told a local publication, Our Poultry Farming. Production has exceeded demand as multiple farmers struggled to ramp up production, as the market has been in short supply in recent years. Too many companies boosted the number of laying hens, Khailov added.

Similar situations have already happened in the past, but now farmers are limited in their opportunities to lower their laying hen population as the poultry meat market is fully saturated, too, Khailov stated. “In addition, long power outages pose a problem for farms, making it difficult to slaughter birds and store meat,” he said.

In the meantime, Ukrainian egg exports continue to rise. During the first half of 2024, sales to foreign customers reached 36,980 tonnes against 29,700 tonnes in the previous year, the official statistical data showed. The growth happened as industrial egg farming in Ukraine is recovering, the Union of Poultry Farmers of Ukraine said in a statement.

The largest importers of Ukrainian eggs were European countries, primarily Poland and Italy, as well as Singapore, the UAE and Israel, the organisation said.

Egg prices in Ukraine may surge over the next few months as the country is braced for extended blackouts during the heating season. DTEK, the country’s largest power generation company, estimated that power outages may last up to 20 hours per day, as a substantial share of the Ukrainian energy system is in ruins.