Future looking brighter for egg industry

“Increased quality and consumption point to a bright future for the Irish Egg Industry” commented John Mohan, Chairman of the Irish Egg Association.

The Irish Egg Association has announced an upturn in Irish egg consumption thanks to the Ireland’s Egg Quality Assurance Scheme.

Until recently the Irish Egg market has been in decline.

In 1998, the number of eggs produced in the state had fallen by 16% on the previous year, demonstrating that swift action was needed to save the industry.

The Irish Egg Association first approached Bord Bia and with their support the Egg Quality Assurance Scheme (EQAS) was developed as part of the industry response to consumer concerns.

EQAS provides an integrated, traceable and transparent system through which eggs are produced and packaged.

In 1999 an improvement of 9.5% was recorded in Irish egg sales, bringing volume levels up to 402 million.

Figures now released for 2001 show that egg consumption has further risen a further 12.5% from its 1999 level of 7.1kg per capita to 7.98kg per capita.

Commenting on the successes of the Quality Assurance Scheme, John Mohan: “The introduction of the scheme had an immediate impact on the Irish egg market.

"Increased overall egg consumption per head, improved actual quality of the eggs combined with an all time low in consumer complaints is testament to the success of the scheme.

"We’re now looking to the future and with the full support help of Bord Bia and the Food Safety Authority are implementing the first dedicated marketing campaign for the egg industry in Ireland."