Majority says: Hen numbers, shell egg prices to remain steady

摘要

Egg production from non-confined systems is not anticipated to increase. The 2009 annual survey of the U.S. egg industry was completed by 37 companies including 13 of the top 20 as ranked by hen numbers. Collectively the responses represented 176 million layers. Of this total 153 million were company-owned with the remainder under contract. During the past year respondents added 4.6 million hens of which 85% were housed in new buildings. In the 2008 suryey, respondents predicted the addition of 6.9 million hens. The discrepancy suggested that market realities constrained expansion. For 2010, respondents proposed adding 6 million hens of which 90% will be placed in new buildings. The previous move towards re-caging existing buildings is apparently slowing.