Egg Industrial Upgrading Sweeps the Globe, with Efficiency and Sustainability as Core Propositions

In 2025, the global egg industry is stepping into a critical transition period of technological innovation and market reconstruction. From the large-scale advantages of intensive farming in the Americas to the new momentum of brand rise in Asia, from the precise breakthroughs in breeding technology to the full-scale implementation of intelligent breeding, an industrial transformation centered on efficiency improvement, safety guarantee and sustainable development is accelerating worldwide. The traditional agricultural product processing industry is evolving into a modern food system integrating technologies from multiple fields.

I. Differentiation of Global Market Pattern: Development Potential Hides in Concentration Gaps

The global egg industry shows significant market differentiation characteristics. In mature markets, the top 10 egg enterprises in the United States have controlled 54% of the country's layer production capacity. Cal-Maine Foods ranks first in the world with a stock of 50.61 million laying hens, highlighting its large-scale advantages. As the world's largest egg producer, China is still in a decentralized stage of "large industry, small enterprises", with the top 15 enterprises accounting for only 11% of the national total stock.

However, there is huge room for growth in the gap. Data shows that the branding rate of Chinese eggs is expected to soar from 7.8% in 2024 to 30% in 2035, and a 100-billion-yuan-scale brand market is taking shape at an accelerated pace. From a global perspective, 70% of the growth in the egg market in the next decade will come from emerging markets such as Asia and Africa, while mature markets will focus on quality upgrading and value enhancement, forming a dual-track pattern of "emerging markets supplementing quantity and mature markets improving quality".

II. Core Technological Breakthroughs: Breeding and Intelligent Breeding Reshape Industrial Efficiency

(I) Breeding Technology Moves Towards the "Comprehensive Balance" Goal

Breeding technology has become the core engine for the efficient development of the industry. Domestic enterprises focus on R&D for local adaptability. The "Jingfen 6 Plus" upgraded and bred by Yukou Poultry Industry has excellent local environmental adaptability and egg quality traits. Its independently developed high-yield layer breed "Jinghong 1" was exported to Tanzania, Africa for the first time in 2023, achieving a "zero breakthrough" in China's layer breed export.

International enterprises focus on animal welfare and system adaptation. Hy-Line International has developed breeds suitable for cage-free systems, and Hendrix Genetics promotes in-ovo sexing technology to solve the problem of cockerel disposal from the source. Currently, the global breeding goal has shifted from single production performance to a comprehensive balance of disease resistance, adaptability and welfare level.

(II) Intelligent Breeding Achieves a Leap in Efficiency

The intelligent transformation of the breeding link is converting the advantages of breeding into actual production capacity. A number of innovative technologies emerged in the Chinese market in 2024: Aimu Intelligent's "Bluetooth Scale" realizes automatic collection of chicken group weight, Magilan Robot identifies weak and dead chickens through AI, and Guizhou Golden Egg Digital Chain's "Golden Egg AI" solves the problem of data silos. These technologies complement foreign multi-linked vaccine injection equipment and chicken house cleaning robots, jointly promoting the global breeding industry into the intelligent era.

Domestic cases show that the effect of intelligent transformation is remarkable. After intelligent upgrading, Qianghui Farm of the 13th Division of the XPCC only needs 2 people to operate 20,000 laying hens, with a daily output value of over 6,000 yuan. After half of the large-scale farms in Lingbi County completed digital transformation, production efficiency increased by 50%, feed loss decreased by 15%, and the laying rate increased from 85% to 97%.

III. Consumption and Sustainable Development: Dual Drivers of Industrial Upgrading

(I) Consumer Side Shows Functional and Scenario-Based Trends

Egg consumption is transforming from basic food materials to solutions, with functionalization and scenario-based development as the main directions. The "Eggs for the middle-aged and elderly" jointly developed by Huazhong Agricultural University and Shendan Company have been proven to improve memory function through experiments; each bottle of protein drink from Ovodan provides 20.5 grams of high-quality protein, accurately meeting health needs; products such as Haipawang "Tiger Skin Fried Eggs" expand the catering scenario through flavor reconstruction.

In mature markets, the premium space of "labeled eggs" such as free-range eggs, organic eggs and functional eggs reaches 2-3 times, with a market share of over 40%; in emerging markets, the demand for pre-packaged egg products grows at a rate of 15% per year, adapting to the diverse consumption scenarios brought by urbanization.

(II) Sustainable Development Becomes a Common Value Orientation

Sustainable development has become the core consensus of the global egg industry. Lohmann Breeding has cultivated 8 breeds specially distinguished between caged and alternative systems to adapt to the popularization trend of cage-free systems. Chinese enterprises actively practice the ESG concept: Sundaily has built the largest cage-free base in China in Guangyuan, Sichuan, in line with the ESG procurement goals of high-end supermarkets; the biogas power generation project at Deqingyuan's Yanqing base reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 84,000 tons annually, and the resource utilization rate of chicken manure in Lingbi County reaches 100%, realizing the unification of ecological and commercial values.

IV. Challenges and Transformation: China's Industry Shifts from "Product Export" to "Value Export"

(I) The Global Industry Faces Dual Challenges

The industrial development is still restricted by two core challenges: one is the threat of diseases. In 2024, the United States lost 32.47 million laying hens due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, a surge of 152% compared with 2023; the other is cost pressure. In 2023, the total cost per laying hen in China's large-scale breeding was 194.2 yuan, with significant regional differentiation. The medium-scale breeding in Shaanxi Province achieved a net profit of 33.6 yuan per chicken, while Shanxi Province suffered a loss of 14.5 yuan in the same period, indicating that refined management has become the key to corporate profitability.

(II) China's Industry Accelerates Value Transformation

Facing challenges, China's egg industry is leaping from "product export" to "value export". Sundaily participated in the formulation of "General Technical Requirements for China Aerospace Ecological Agricultural Products" to lead the industry through standard construction; Houquan Ecology has built a "Digital and Intelligent Layer Platform" and jointly invested in the construction of an egg liquid factory, highlighting the comprehensive competitive advantages of the ecosystem and supply chain. In the processing field, although the proportion of processed eggs in China is only 1%, it is expected to achieve a 30-fold growth in the next decade, with a 100-billion-yuan market to be explored.

Conclusion

Driven by both technology and consumption upgrading, the global egg industry has completed the transformation from traditional agriculture to a modern food system. In the future, enterprises that consolidate quality with technology, grasp demand with insight, and build supply chains with wisdom will take the lead in the industrial transformation and guide the industry towards a more efficient, safer and more sustainable new stage.

(Note: This article is compiled and published based on content from relevant magazines and public industry information, and the copyright belongs to the original author.)