Hatching egg market currently booming
Due to the acute shortage of hatching eggs in Europe, prices have reached historic highs. The export market is driving domestic prices up. It remains to be seen how long this period of prosperity will last, and the long-term prospects remain unclear.
The hatching egg market is flourishing. The indicative price for regular hatching eggs from the Dutch poultry farmers organisation ‘Nederlandse Organisatie van Pluimveehouders’, is expected to approach €0.30, excluding VAT. In week 19, the price is set at €29.63. For comparison, in the first week of 2024, the price did not exceed €21.65. Hatching egg prices are at historically high levels.
Until recently, poultry producers could not have imagined such prices, as they have been accustomed to working with razor-thin margins for many years. It is clear the boundaries in the hatching egg market are currently being redrawn. There is a large demand for hatching eggs, indicating an acute shortage of hatching eggs, especially abroad.
The repercussions of avian influenza
The impact of avian influenza is considerable. Countries such as Poland and Hungary are still being ravaged by highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks. As a result of the highly contagious animal disease, a substantial gap has emerged in Polish breeding stock.
According to Jan Minten, board member of the Central Organisation for Hatching Eggs and Chicks, about 1.5 million breeding birds have been cleared in Poland. That, he said, is a third of the total Dutch breeding stock.
Price peak benefits poultry producers
Minten explained that the current price peak benefits poultry producers. After a few disappointing years, it is important that they now have room for investment and can build up a buffer. “They work hard and face great risks,” he said. “During the coronavirus period, demand disappeared. Hatching eggs were not quoted and were sold for dumping prices of €0.10 to €0.12. Flocks were cleared prematurely. That was sometimes truly dramatic.”
Minten sees the shortage of hatching eggs as leading to sky-high prices which, in turn, stimulate production. “Ultimately, everyone benefits from stable prices at a good level. In the longer term, that is preferable to a period with an enormous price peak.”
Broiler breeders
The figures for broiler breeder stocks in the Netherlands show a downward trend, with fewer than 5 million breeding birds being established in 2024. In the first 5 months of 2025, there were 387,000 fewer breeding birds compared to the same period last year.
Hatching eggs
Meanwhile, the proportion of hatching eggs for export has increased significantly. The risks in the export market are considerably higher than those on the domestic market. Minten stated that over the past decades, on average every 5-7 years a hatching egg exporter has been forced out of business. There are still about 7 such exporters active in the Netherlands and Belgium, he noted.
The high hatching egg prices are also prompting major markets in the Middle East to scale up their own production. Minten remarked: “We are seeing that Iraq is investing in expanding its breeding stock. However, it is not yet simple to quickly grow this part of the production chain. The production of hatching eggs requires considerable capital and expertise.”
