2120 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

APPENDIX 1: MEMBER STATE REPORTS100%90%80%70%Proportion of laying hens60%50%40%30%20%10%0%1990 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 20011-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000-19,999 20,000-49,999 50,000+Figure A1.57: Evolution of proportion of laying hens by flock size 1990 to 2001Note: data were unavailable for some years.Source: PVE-publication: Vee, vlees en eieren in cijfers, various years.Combining the above information it can be seen that whilst just 9% of holdings had flocks in excess of50,000 laying hens in 2002, these flocks accounted for half of the Dutch national flock. Conversely,whilst 47% of holdings with laying hens had less than 5,000 birds in the same year, these accountedfor just 3% of the national flock. This demonstrates a move towards a smaller proportion of largeholdings with an increasing proportion of the national flock since 1990.There is only a small number of very small producer groups supplying eggs to buyers. The bulk ofeggs are sold direct to egg packing centres, usually on short-term supply or price contracts. This isespecially the case for eggs from alternative systems. These contracts usually cover one laying cycleand market prices are paid. About half of the eggs supplied to the egg processing industry are on thebasis of a fixed price contract. These typically run for up to one year.Vertical integration is very limited, although some integration is now being introduced towards theconsumer end of the supply chain. However, a few egg packing centres still have their own eggproduction facilities on site. This is largely for historical reasons and stems from when largeproducers decided to pack and market their own eggs. As scale increased they started to pack eggsfrom other farms as well and over time the packing centre became the core business.236