March 28, 2018

Eggs sold in UK to soar to 180M this Easter weekend

Easter is a boon to egg producers and sellers, and people in Britain are expected to eat a whopping 180 million hen eggs, or 45 million eggs a day, over the long weekend, according to figures released by the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC).

This follows a sustained period of upward sales for eggs-it is expected that 2018 will be the 12th consecutive year of growth in UK egg sales.

In recent years egg sales have been steadily increasing, in contrast to the 1980s when the egg industry endured falling retail sales by as much as 8% each year. Last year, annual retail sales grew almost 5%. 

UK consumers each eat an average of 197 eggs per year (including eggs in prepared foods, both home-cooked and eating out). The BEIC is anticipating hitting the 200-eggs-per-person barrier this year, although that is still fewer than the consumption 30 years ago, which was 209 per person per year.

"We look forward to a cracking Easter this year-sales are up significantly as the health benefits and new food safety advice, which says everyone can now eat runny eggs as long as they are British Lion, continues to filter through to consumers", says Andrew Joret, BEIC chairman.