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Captain James Cook introduced poultry to New Zealand in 1773; he then released more poultry into the wild in 1774 and 1777. The first recorded farming of poultry in New Zealand was in 1814 when missionaries in the Bay of Islands raised poultry.
The late 1980s saw the abolition of both price and production controls in the egg industry, and the disestablishment of the New Zealand Poultry Board. This change was followed by a dramatic reduction in returns to producers, though this was not always matched by a reduction in retail egg prices. Deregulation changed the relationship and relative profitability of producers and egg wholesalers. Many producers now sell direct to the wholesale and retail trade rather than through co-operatives or other organisations.
New Zealand currently has around 125 commercial egg producers, with the largest 20 producers accounting for over 75% of total production. Since deregulation in the late 1980’s the number of commercial egg producers has declined rapidly, with subsequent consolidation of market share between the various producers.
The Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand Inc (EPF), funded via producer levies under the Commodity Levies Act, represents the industry. Eggs Incorporated (Eggs Inc) is contracted to the EPF and provides nationwide activities to promote eggs on a generic basis.
New Zealand’s estimated 3.2 million laying hens produced around 80 million dozen eggs in 2008 (968 million eggs in total). The amount of time taken for a hen to start producing has improved over the years - in the 1970's, it took 22-24 weeks for a hen to begin producing, but nowadays, it is closer to 18 weeks.
Over 85% of eggs are sold as table eggs within the domestic market, with the remainder used in the baking and catering industries. Retail sales of eggs are worth upwards of $200 million. Total egg production has slowly increased over the past decade, with an increase in per capita consumption also - now around 227 eggs per person annually.
The majority of eggs produced in New Zealand are from cage production systems (89%), with the balance being produced in free range or barn egg production systems. The last decade has also seen a wider choice of egg types available from standard white and brown to wholegrain, vegetarian, omega enriched, barn, and free range eggs.
Feed makes up approximately 60-70% of the total cost of producing table eggs, with the remaining costs generated from livestock production, processing and packaging, storage, distribution, and marketing.
The New Zealand Egg Industry has a small, but growing, export base. At present, significant numbers of live day old chicks and fertile hatching eggs are exported to the Pacific and Oceania regions. New Zealand also exports a small amount of table eggs and egg products, mainly to the Pacific Islands. In the year ending December 2008, over 747,000 kg of table eggs and egg products were exported, valued at more than $3 million.
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