Per Capita Egg Consumption

Eggs have long been a staple of American diets, whether eaten directly or as a part of sauces or baked goods, and the consumption of eggs experiences little variance. The perceived healthiness of eggs contributes the most to changes in consumption. Their relative healthiness has been in dispute, as they consist of pure protein whites and fatty, though nutrient-rich, yolks. Before the recession in 2008 and 2009, egg consumption rose steadily as high-protein diets became popular. Adopters of high-protein diets consume eggs for their protein-rich whites. This factor increased consumption from 30.2 to 33.2 pounds per person between 1997 and 2007.

However, the recession and rising egg prices have reversed this trend. The recession caused a drop in consumers’ disposable income, which forced them to cut back on the consumption of most goods. Eggs were not spared the consumption decline, especially given an increase in egg prices, and annual per capita consumption dropped to 31.7 pounds in 2010. While per capita egg consumption is expected to be favorably affected by higher disposable incomes, egg consumption contracted by 3.5% in 2015. According to the Department of Agriculture, the poultry sector has slowly recovered from the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which has lowered egg production levels. This trend, in turn, has caused the average price of eggs to skyrocket, increasing 22.3% in 2015. As a result, price-sensitive consumers have curbed their per capita egg consumption, with consumption declining 3.5% in the year alone. In 2016, per capita egg consumption levels rebounded significantly for two reasons. Firstly, egg producers effectively dealt with the HPAI outbreak from the previous year, which led to higher egg production values. Secondly, the government dropped its caution about eating high-cholesterol foods, which includes eggs. This decline and rebound caused moderate volatility in the driver. The price has since dropped from its 2015 level and consumption has increased as a result.

In 2020, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic changed consumer spending patterns since people were stuck at home. While this has led to an increase in cooking at home, the same period also brought declines in consumers dining out at restaurants, which contributed to declining egg consumption in the year. However, these declines are not only related to consumers dining out less but also the status of the egg production industry in the period, which endured challenges in the period as operators had to either limit or temporarily suspend their operations to comply with safety measures. As a result, prices for eggs increased during the year, which deters demand for these items despite their staple status because of the economic uncertainty at the time, pushing consumers to become more cost-conscious in their purchasing behavior.

While the economy reopened in 2021, operators that had to limit their operations the year before had to ramp up their production again, keeping prices higher and demand challenged. In 2022, per capita consumption of eggs began to incline with inflationary pressures within the year, making consumers more cost-conscious. With more downstream markets having settled at staying reopened again, per capita consumption of eggs went up despite the economic uncertainty. However, the onset of HPAI occurring in various states is set to stay a pressuring point for producers, which tempers these increases in per capita consumption again. But even with these factors inbound, per capita consumption of eggs is expected to scale up 0.5% in 2023. Inflationary pressures have become a larger issue, pressuring how much consumers now can spend on their expenses. However, essential goods like eggs remain a vital part of many types of meals, which is expected to help direct spending to more items despite these pressures. As these factors are expected to spill over into the following years, egg consumption will expand 3.0% and 1.7% in 2024 and 2025, respectively.