In-Ovo Sexing Achieved 15% EU Market Share in Five Years

Original research by Innovate Animal Ag indicates that at least 56.4 million of the current layer population of 389 million hens in the European Union were sexed in-ovo as of September 2023, indicating a 15% market penetration after only 5 years. This number was calculated by asking in-ovo sexing companies to report how many hens they had produced in the last 18 months. The market penetration is certain to continue to grow rapidly since many new machines were installed within the last 18 months.

The companies developing in-ovo sexing technology have clearly shown an ability to scale to meet the demands of the European consumer, and will likely soon expand to the US and the rest of the world where consumers are eager for the technology to reach their shores.  

Where are all the Eggs?

These numbers might come as a surprise to those in Europe that may not see eggs from in-ovo sexed hens in at their local grocery store. There are a couple of ways to explain this discrepancy.

First, there is geographical concentration of sales for table eggs produced by in-ovo sexed hens. Even though many of the in-ovo sexing circuits are installed in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, many of the resulting table eggs are going to Germany and France, since those are the countries with bans on chick culling currently in place. Residents of other EU countries may therefore not see these eggs on grocery store shelves.

Second, layers only start producing table eggs when they’re 16 to 24 weeks old, meaning table eggs hit grocery store shelves up to half a year after the chicks are hatched. Only a fraction of the chicks hatched in 2023 utilizing in-ovo sexing have started to produce table eggs that consumers can buy.

View the full report here.