The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) has launched an investigation into the reasons for the increase in prices for chicken eggs in October 2024, the agency’s press service reports.
According to the regulator’s website, the AMCU has already sent requests for information directly to chicken egg producers, their sellers, and feed producers, whose cost is one of the main components of the cost of chicken eggs.
The regulator reminded that this is not the first time it has responded to the situation with rising egg prices. Thus, in October 2022, a study was launched to investigate the reasons for the increase in prices for chicken eggs in domestic retail chains. The study collected and analyzed information from market participants at each of the stages of the product’s circulation from the producer to the end consumer.
The AMCU also noted that it has expanded the scope of the study on this group of goods, which was launched in September-October 2022, and extended it until October 2024.
“After receiving responses from market participants and further analysis of all factors influencing the pricing behavior of business entities at each of the links in the commodity circulation, final conclusions will be formed on the presence or absence of signs of violation of the legislation on the protection of economic competition in the actions of the participants in the commodity market involved,” the AMCU summarized.
As reported, in October, Ukraine set record high prices for chicken eggs, which exceeded the threshold of 60 UAH per dozen. The Union of Poultry Breeders of Ukraine explained this by the delayed reaction of poultry farmers who worked at a loss in the summer of 2024, while the cost of feed and electricity has risen significantly and the industry cannot work at a loss anymore.
Two Ukrainian producers of chicken and eggs, MHP and Avangard, topped the list of European producers of chicken and eggs and took 15th place in the global ranking, according to the WattPoultry magazine, which researches the global market for the production, processing and sale of poultry products.
According to the ranking, MHP agricultural holding topped the list of broiler producers in the European Union and took 15th place in the world ranking with a production of 704 thousand tons of chicken meat per year.
Ukrainian agricultural holding Avangard was ranked first among egg producers in the European Union and 15th among world leaders with a production of 13.3 million eggs.
“Demand for chicken meat continues to grow and consumption is expected to increase by 16% between 2024 and 2033, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization, which is obviously good news for global poultry producers. Nothing is guaranteed, but as demand remains high, companies in our industry at least have plenty of opportunities to capitalize on them,” the publication emphasized.
The compilers of the rating reminded that broiler and egg producers, wherever they are in the world, are forced to deal with disease outbreaks and increasingly stringent regulations. However, they can at least be sure that demand for their products will continue.
MHP is the largest chicken producer in Ukraine. It produces grain, sunflower oil, and processed meat products.
In 2023, the company earned $142 million in net profit compared to a net loss of $231 million a year earlier. Last year, the group’s revenue increased by 14% to $3.021 billion.
As reported, in March 2022, Avangard announced losses of UAH 1.5 billion since the beginning of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Russian aggression has led to the shutdown of a number of the group’s key poultry farms, and chickens at the Chornobaivska poultry farm (Bilozerka, Kherson region) were left without food and died.
“Ukrlandfarming is one of the largest agricultural holdings in Eurasia. It is engaged in growing grain, raising cattle, and distributing machinery, fertilizers, and seeds. “Avangard, a part of it, is Ukraine’s largest producer of eggs and egg products.
Ovostar Union, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, increased its total number of chickens by 4.1% to 7.6 million in January-June 2024, while the number of laying hens decreased by 4.6% to 6.2 million compared to the same period in 2023.
According to a report on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the group reduced the volume of eggs produced by 4% to 706 million in the first half of 2024, while sales decreased by 9.4% to 433 million compared to the same period last year.
Export sales of eggs decreased by 18.3% to 170 mln, accounting for 39% of the total number of eggs sold in the first half of 2024, while a year earlier this figure was 43%.
“Ovostar Union increased egg processing by 28% to 274 million in the first half of 2024. The company produced 1,170 tons of dry egg products and 7,040 tons of liquid egg products. A year earlier, the figures were 1,050 tons and 6,232 tons, respectively.
Sales of dry egg products amounted to 1,116 tons, down 8.4% year-on-year, of which 833 tons, or 75%, were exported. A year earlier, the figures were 878 tons and 72%, respectively. Sales volume of liquid egg products increased by 14.5% to 6,967 tons, of which export sales amounted to 2,506 tons or 36%. A year earlier, these figures amounted to 2,801 tons and 46%, respectively.
“In the first half of 2024, the Group’s companies continued to be under constant pressure from the ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. Despite numerous unfavorable factors that affected the group’s operations in the reporting period, such as destabilization of production processes due to prolonged power outages, complications in domestic and international logistics, volatility in both purchase prices for the main components of feed and sales prices for manufactured products, the group managed to maintain production and sales of eggs and egg products at the level of the previous year, which we consider a satisfactory operating result,” the press service emphasized.
According to the Union of Poultry Breeders of Ukraine, in January-June 2024, Ukraine increased egg exports to 36.98 thousand tons. Including eggs in the shell, national producers exported 32.98 thousand tons for 33.711 million dollars.
At the same time, egg exports in the first half of 2023 amounted to 29.7 thousand tons. In particular, 25.737 thousand tons of shell eggs were exported for 34.745 million dollars.
The largest importers of Ukrainian eggs are EU countries, in particular Italy and Poland, as well as Singapore, the UAE and Israel.
Polish egg producers welcome the reinstatement of customs duties on eggs imported to the European Union from Ukraine, as a few dozen hours were enough to increase interest in eggs from Polish farmers, said Pawel Podstawka, chairman of the National Federation of Poultry and Egg Producers (KFHDiPJ).
“For many weeks now, we have been observing a stagnation in purchase prices for eggs, which, due to the very low prices offered by competitors from Ukraine, our livestock producers had to sell almost at production cost. (…) According to the signals I receive from colleagues from different parts of the country, although only a few dozen hours have passed since the reintroduction of customs duties, there is already a visible recovery on the demand side, which proves the tendency towards market normalization,” he was quoted as saying by the Polish publication farmer.pl.
Pawel Luty, spokesman for Ferm Woźniak, the largest egg producer in Poland, agrees with the KRHDiPJ chairman.
“The introduction of customs duties on imports of eggs from Ukraine to the European Union brings the first positive effects for Polish egg producers and exporters. We are seeing increased interest from EU and third country counterparties in purchasing eggs from Poland. This is a step in the right direction, easing the pressure on local producers and strengthening their position on the international market. The egg market is still competitive, mainly on price, and the low standards of egg production in Ukraine and the associated lower production costs are a long-term problem. This is best illustrated by the export of egg powders, which Ukrainian producers offer at a price about 25% lower than the cost of raw materials required for the production of powders in the EU,” Luthi said.
According to the industry association, in 2023, egg production in Poland was estimated at about 14 billion eggs. Every tenth egg in Europe was laid in Polish chicken coops. Every third egg produced on Polish farms was exported.
As reported, from June 2, 2024, to June 5, 2025, the European Commission introduced quotas for the supply of eggs and sugar to the European Union from Ukraine due to the excess of quota-free volumes of their supplies to the European market.
Source: https://interfax.com.ua/
In January-March 2024, Ovostar Union, a vertically integrated holding company, one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine, increased its total number of hens by 2.7% to 7.31 million, while reducing the number of laying hens by 4.1% to 6.12 million.
According to the group’s report published on the Warsaw Stock Exchange website on Friday, the volume of egg production in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to 331 million eggs, which is 9% less than in the same period of 2023. Accordingly, sales in the egg segment amounted to 211 million units, which is 12.4% less than last year.
Export sales of shell eggs in January-March 2024 also decreased by 22.9% and amounted to 81 million units, which was 38% of the total number of eggs sold in this period in 2024. A year earlier, this figure was 44%, the report says.
At the same time, in the first quarter of 2024, the agricultural holding increased egg processing by 42% to 132 million eggs, while in 2023 this figure was 92 million. Ovostar produced 571 tons of dry egg products and 3.41 thousand tons of liquid egg products, while last year the processing amounted to 406 tons and 3.07 thousand tons, respectively.
Sales of dry egg products amounted to 629 tons, up 18.5% year-on-year, of which 478 tons (76%) were exported. In the first quarter of 2023, 354 tons (67%) of dry egg products were exported to foreign markets.
Sales of liquid egg products amounted to 3.4 thousand tons, up 11% year-on-year, of which 1.14 thousand tons (34%) were exported. A year earlier, 1.29 thousand tons (42%) of liquid egg products were exported.
“In the first quarter of 2023, the volume of egg production decreased due to a slight decrease in the number of laying hens. Given the downward trend in egg prices, the company increased the volume of egg processing, which led to a steady increase in egg production. In the current situation, the management is satisfied with the operating results achieved in the first three months of the year,” said Boris Belikov, CEO of Ovostar Union.
Ovostar Union, a vertically integrated holding company, is one of the leading producers of eggs and egg products in Ukraine. “In the first nine months of 2023, Ovostar earned $29.08 million in net profit, up 12.2 times year-on-year. Its revenue for the nine months increased by 36.3% to $123.06 million, mainly due to higher prices for its products.
