Brown eggs will disappear from supermarkets. What is the reason

Brown eggs will disappear from supermarket shelves, where only white eggs will be found, market experts warn, explaining the reasons.

Brown eggs are already less common on supermarket shelves. “In five years there will be no more brown eggs on supermarket shelves“, said Henner Schönecke, president of the German Federal Egg Association, writes agrarheute.com.

The reason is simple: many breeders of laying hens are switching from chickens that make brown eggs to chickens that make white eggs.

Henner Schönecke, who was the poultry breeder of the year at the CERES AWARD 2014, is transforming his farm, deciding to have only free-range hens that lay white eggs. The breed he opted for is the Leghorn, a breed that presents a number of advantages:

• They would have more genetic potential.

• They are slightly smaller than hens that lay brown eggs and are therefore more agile. They can live with this because, given the same number of animals, they have more space in the stable.

• They are easier to hold and more mobile.

• According to Schönecke, it also consumes less feed, which saves resources and costs.

• The eggs are slightly smaller, but this is less tiring for the hens

• In general, they would live longer and be more productive: about 500 eggs in 100 weeks of life, compared to Braunlegers that produce 380 brown eggs in 82 weeks.

All this makes it a more durable hen compared to the Braunleger. According to Henner Schönecke, brown eggs will only be found in a few regional poultry farmers in the future.

There is one more reason that could convince consumers, at least during Easter. As Henner Schönecke writes, white eggs could be dyed more easily and the color would be more intense.

On the other hand, egg prices are reaching near-record highs in many parts of the world, reflecting a market plagued by epidemics, high demand and rising costs for farmers.

Chicken feed costs account for up to 70% of a farmer’s costs, and feed prices have doubled between 2020 and 2022. Adverse weather conditions, disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which have driven up the price of wheat and of other crops, fueled this situation, an XTB analysis shows.