Estonia produces 189.5 mln eggs in 2024

TALLINN - According to Statistics Estonia, 189.5 million eggs were produced in Estonia in 2024, which is 6 percent more than the year before.

The average annual egg production was 138 eggs per person. Including imported eggs, 16.2 kilograms or 259 eggs per person were consumed during the year.

At the end of 2024, there were 2.4 million poultry in Estonia, 97 percent of these were hens and cocks, and the remaining 78,200 were other poultry.

Ege Kirs, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that egg production has started to increase again in recent years.

"Last year, the poultry laid a total of 11,800 tons of eggs. The bulk of egg production comes from a few large farms, which are also the main contributors to production growth and decline," Kirs added.

Last year, Estonia imported 12,700 tons of egg products, 71 percent of which were whole eggs. Exports of eggs amounted to 2,300 tons in 2024. Based on production and import and export data, a total of 356.1 million eggs, or 22,200 tons, were consumed in Estonia in 2024, which is 9 percent more than the year before. Almost all of this is consumed for food, as eggs for hatching are practically no longer produced in Estonia.

By dividing production by consumption, the level of egg self-sufficiency can be estimated. Last year, Estonia’s self-sufficiency for eggs was 53 percent, which means that about one in two eggs eaten here is locally produced.