The American Egg Board (AEB) circulates Nielsen retail sales data as a service to the industry. The latest report released August 31st reflected 52-week rolling sales and consumption of eggs and egg products for the 52-weeks ending July 16th 2022. Nielsen data captures a proportion of retail volume and sales value of shell eggs, consumer-packed liquid and hard-boiled peeled eggs. Data is derived from supermarkets, groceries, Dollar outlets, drug and convenience stores all with annual sales in excess of $2 million. Some club warehouses provide data but Costco is excluded.
The data assembled by Nielsen and distributed by the AEB for the past 52-weeks to July 16th documented sales of 3.11 billion dozen egg-equivalents in all retail presentations over the 52-week period. This represents 38.0 percent of projected and updated USDA data for calendar 2022 egg production totaling 8.18 billion dozen eggs as updated by the USDA on August 18th for shell, liquid and exports. According to USDA data the shell-egg segment of the industry comprised 68.1 percent of all U.S. egg production for the week ending August 24th 2022. Considering only shell egg sales, Nielsen captured 52 percent of the sales volume based on 68 percent of production directed to shell eggs and derivatives with their total of 3.11 billion. This figure is compared to 68 percent of the USDA 8.18 billion or 5.98 billion shell eggs produced in 2022.
- For the 52-week period in 2021-2022, retail sales of all shell-egg categories (shell, consumer liquid, hard boiled) expressed as egg-equivalents decreased by 4.1 percent from the corresponding previous 52 weeks. Dollar value was 19.2 percent higher to $7,701 million. Projected per capita consumption in 2022 will attain 278.3 eggs representing a 0.8 percent decrease from the 2021 period as a result of flock depletion due to HPAI and depressed sales in 2021 as a result of COVID restrictions. Direct price comparisons are distorted by the late March and April 2020 panic buying in response to COVID and late second quarter 2022 price rises due to HPAI.
- On a rolling 52-week basis, the volume captured by Nielsen comprising retail shell-egg sales attained 2,986 million egg-equivalent dozens. Shell egg value at retail was $7,204 million with an average 2021-22 unit value of $2.41 per dozen. Egg alternatives including liquid, frozen and powdered egg products converted to equivalent dozens attained 91.5 million dozen equivalents, a 12.8 percent increase over the previous 52-week period and a 0.4 percent decrease in value to $306.5 million corresponding to a unit value of $3.36 per dozen. Rolling 52-week hard-boiled peeled egg sales attained 35.7 million dozen, with a 12.8 percent increase in volume and a disproportional 9.2 percent decline in value to $190.3 million compared to the previous 52-week period reflecting unit price of $5.34 per dozen in 2022.
- In classifying retail sales by product segment, conventional (caged) eggs represented 73.4 percent and cage-free 17.8 percent. Free-range and pastured combined amounted to 8.9 percent. This figure is however based on loose and inconsistent definitions of these categories of housing with evident deficiencies in capture of sales data. Rolling 52-week conventional (non-organic) egg sales decreased 21.1 percent in volume but were 29.0 percent higher in value.
- The report indicated that 7.1 percent of shell eggs were marketed under the USDA Certified Organic shield up 2.0 percent in volume and 7.6 percent in value.
- With respect to volume of other than generic shell eggs, 52-week rolling branded egg sales comprised 30.0 percent of retail sales compared to 70.0 percent for private label. Branded eggs generated 39.0 percent of dollar value compared to private label at 61.0 percent. Branded eggs declined by 0.9 percent in volume and increased 21.1 percent in value over the past 52 weeks.
- In analyzing retail channels for shell eggs, 52-week rolling values compared to the previous period in 2021 documented that supermarkets and groceries (58.0 percent of sales) decreased by 3.3 percent, drugstores (0.1 percent of sales) lower by 26.1 percent, convenience stores (1.1 percent of sales) were down by 5.9 percent and the combination of club stores and Dollar stores (40.3 percent, excluding Costco, an important deletion given their volume) increased by 1.4 percent presumably with the largest contribution from big-box club stores other than Costco.