KANANASKIS, Alta. – A group calling itself NEST is making eggs a priority.
The National Egg Strategy Team includes producers, processors, graders and staff from provincial producer organizations who want to modernize the Canadian egg sector.
Formed in 2005, it has travelled the country to talk about modernizing the system while retaining quota under supply management. NEST wants to add value to the egg business in Canada whether it is for processing products or specialty eggs for the health conscious.
“Our industry needs to change. It needs to evolve in the future as it has in the past, in order for us to continue to have a viable egg industry in the long term,” said egg producer Peter Clarke of Nova Scotia. He is also on the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CEMA) board.
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NEST is not necessarily considering quota allocation changes for the provinces. Instead it is talking with producers about ways to adjust production practices for more profitability and to address new consumer demands.
Growth in processing
One change for the industry is meeting the wishes of processors.
About 70 percent of eggs go to the table market and the rest are processed. At one time most eggs were consumed fresh but that may change as more are processed for fast food breakfast sandwiches, baked goods or pharmaceutical products.
One of the responsibilities of the national agency is to manage eggs required for processed products, said Tim Lambert, chief executive officer of CEMA.
“Over time you see more and more development of new product ideas. For example, it could be breakfast sandwiches at Tim Hortons,” Lambert said.
“As our market changes we need to make sure we are responding to those to be able to find those eggs,” he said.
Farmers are producing enough eggs for all uses, but increasing costs and outside competitors make it difficult to earn a decent income for their effort, said Clarke.
“It becomes a question over the longer term … whether or not we can continue to produce eggs profitably from the producers’ side as well.”
Processing eggs are sold on a world price based in the United States. In recent years however, U.S. prices have become more volatile, changing from week to week. With the Canadian dollar edging toward par with the American currency, producers face a further disadvantage.
In addition, the U.S. industry is structured differently and is integrated on a corporate basis versus Canadian family-owned operations.
Canada has 22 million birds in total whereas one individual U.S. farm has 20 million layers.
