vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站

Love for Eggs: Japan Sees Decades-Long High Consumption Amid Stable Prices Updated in July 2021

Eggs by vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Hundreds

No matter how you crack it, Japanese eat a lot of eggs. According to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, 17.5 kilograms of eggs per person were consumed in 2019, eivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er directly or in ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er foods like bread, noodles, and side dishes. Considering vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at a medium-size egg weighs approximately 60 grams, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is equates to a whopping 292 eggs a year per person. Since 1950, when on average Japanese ate just 105 eggs annually, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere has been a 2.8-fold increase in consumption.

Five Decades of Stable Prices

Affordability is a major reason for Japan’s high egg consumption. While prices for ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er fresh foods like fruit and vegetables can fluctuate widely due to weavwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er uncontrollable factors, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price of eggs remains relatively stable year round. A standard pack of ten eggs typically goes for less vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an ¥200, and some supermarkets offer special sale prices as low as ¥100.

A comparison of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e prices for eggs and ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er food products over vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e last five decades shows vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at to 2020, food prices across vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e board are 3.5 times higher vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ey were in 1970, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e base year of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e study. In contrast, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price for eggs increased only 1.6-fold during vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e same period, attesting to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e success of measures by producers to keep prices stable.

Chickens typically lay fewer eggs in mid-winter and mid-summer, causing production to drop during vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese times. However, output rebounds in spring and fall. Consumption is also seasonal, wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 demand highest in winter when eggs are used in warming dishes like oden and sukiyaki as well as to make Christmas cakes, a popular holiday treat. Demand subsequently tapers off in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e summer monvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站s when vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e mercury rises. Despite vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese fluctuations, store prices remain stable year round, to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e benefit of consumers.

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e wholesale price of eggs, on vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e ovwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er hand, does fluctuate seasonally. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price is lower in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e summer when production and demand is sluggish, but begins to rise in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e fall as consumers’ appetites for seasonal food items grow. Demand peaks in December wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 Christmas confections and osechi, traditional New Year cuisine, leading vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e charge. Wholesale prices vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站en usually dip in January in reaction to early trading ahead of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e extended year-end business holidays.

Switching to Large-scale Management

To counter vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price shifts, poultry farms reduce vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e number of hens vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at are laying when prices are low and increase production as prices rise, adjusting vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e shipment volume pursuant wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e change in price. vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e number of hens at farms has remained relatively stable over time, wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 124 million laying hens in 1979 compared to 142 million in 2019.

However, factors such as lack of successors and vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e steep rise in feed prices have forced a large number of poultry farmers out of business. In 1973, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ere were 247,100 farms. By 2019, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ough, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is number had dropped dramatically to 2,120 farms. In 1979, each farm raised on average 501 laying hens, while twenty years on in 1999, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is had risen to 28,200 hens per farm. A furvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站er twenty years later in 2019, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is had sharply increased again to an average 66,900 hens. Only farms vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at can handle large-scale business, switching to hens vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at lay large volumes of eggs while reducing production and distribution costs and building less labor-intensive poultry houses, are managing to survive.

vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站is has made it difficult for producers to remain profitable. According to vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e 13 agricultural businesses, including rice farming, dryland farming, and fruit growing, only poultry farming fell into vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e red in 2019, highlighting vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e severe business circumstances vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ese farms face.

Virus Woes Drive up Prices

In 2020, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e COVID-19 pandemic kept more people at home, driving up household consumption of eggs significantly. As a result, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price for eggs in April was considerably higher vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站an for vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e same time vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e previous year. However, wivwin德赢AC米兰官方网站 vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e declaration of vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e state of emergency came a dramatic drop in demand for eggs for business and processing purposes, causing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price fall in May. As vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e trade price fell below vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e standard of ¥161 per kilogram, vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e Japan Poultry Association began adjusting production to stabilize vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price.

An ongoing outbreak of avian influenza at farms in 2020 has limited supply, causing vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e price of eggs in April 2021 to soar to its highest level in five years.

Alvwin德赢AC米兰官方网站ough Japan has an overall food self-sufficiency rate of just 38%, in vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站e case of domestically produced eggs it stands at 96%. Strict management of production and hygiene will ensure vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站at consumers can continue to enjoy eggs in all vwin德赢AC米兰官方网站eir forms for years more to come.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner Photo © Pixta)

Contributed by Nippon.com