The demand for eggs has skyrocketed since they have become an indispensable part of people’s diets around the world. Egg consumption has always been higher in Western countries compared to places like India. India is the third-largest egg producer, with a daily output of about 22 crore table eggs, but its per capita consumption is only 60 eggs, compared to 300 in China and 290 in the United States, according to the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC). Nevertheless, the disparity has begun to gradually close thanks to robust advertising initiatives and increased public awareness. Traders must incorporate cutting-edge technology, emerging business trends, and innovative procedures into their operations to sustain a robust supply chain in response to the country’s escalating demand. Kitchen Herald takes a bird’s-eye view of the industry to investigate cutting-edge practices, strategies, and concepts that are keeping it afloat in the face of rising domestic demand.
The chicken industry in India is poised to continue making good commercial connections in the years to come. The country’s poultry industry, which is a leading global producer of both meat and eggs, has seen profound structural and operational changes during the past 20 years. The nutrient density of eggs is high because they contain a lot of useful elements for growth and health, including protein (12 percent of the DV), vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids, folate, iron, phosphorus, Selenium, Choline, zinc, and many more. Eggs are also a good source of many other nutrients. One of the most influential health indicators on children’s development and growth is the amount of protein in their diet. The “functional foods” category now includes eggs thanks to two newly-recognised nutrients: lutein and zeaxanthin.
Alternating with different types of birds
There has been a dramatic increase in the demand for eggs in the country due to the rapid population growth, which has put pressure on the poultry farmers to produce more eggs at a faster rate. Farmers are now faced with a dilemma: either increase their already high output levels or find a way to give extra eggs to the boiler. Here, a lot of farmers are moving their focus away from boiler eggs and towards eggs from other birds, like Kadaknath, country chicken (Natty Koli), quails, duck, etc.
According to current trends, duck farming has piqued the interest of poultry farmers in India. Approximately 7-8% of India’s entire egg production comes from ducks, while the industry accounts for 10% of China’s total poultry farming. The fact that ducks produce more eggs each year (approximately 300) and that their eggs are larger than chickens’ are two of the many factors contributing to this change. From a business perspective, ducks are a good investment since they lay economically in the second year, which lowers production costs.
Similarly, chicken has traditionally taken a back seat to Kadaknath, also called Kali Masi. Despite being a rare and unique food item, Kadaknath’s eggs are becoming increasingly popular in India due to the abundance of nutrients they contain. Kadaknath hens are ideal for supplementing the Indian egg market due to their high nutritious content; nevertheless, their annual egg production is 120 to 130, which is about half of what boiler produces.
From a farmer’s perspective, if we compare kadaknath’s egg farming to traditional egg farming, then kadaknath has the upper hand, according to Dr Chandan Kumar Incharge, Pasture and Forage Research Division, Mathura Veterinary College, Mathura
. First of all, this breed is perfectly content to grow up in the wild without human interference. Secondly, traders and customers alike benefit from the longer shelf life and increased protection provided by the tougher shell of kadaknath eggs compared to boiler’s eggs.
Improvements to packaging design to cut down on waste
Extra caution is required while moving eggs from one location to another due to their delicate nature. It is estimated that approximately 20 to 25 percent of the eggs produced in the country are lost or spoilt during transportation. Both packaging and road conditions are major contributors. For the purpose of cutting down on waste, numerous businesses, including startups, have developed various packaging solutions that offer additional protection to the goods.
A natural subset of the polymers and advanced materials market, packaging has been through a period of rapid technological advancement in recent years. Products in the packaging industry now have a far smoother surface and a more refined appearance and feel thanks to tremendous advancements in manufacturing technology. In this respect, pulp packaging is one of the most popular options.
Before eggs reach consumers, they pass through two significant packaging steps. Most farmers utilise walled basket packaging filled with odourless rice husks, wheat chaff or chopped straw to protect the eggs during transportation to the dealer in the first stage. This is necessary because the eggs are still relatively fresh. At this point, you may also see filler tray packing, which consists of wood pulp moulds that hold the eggs. Their design allows them to be compact when not in use and easy to store and move in containers. If you want to know how many eggs are in a package without counting each one individually, filler trays are a great option.
Secondly, when the eggs are ready to be sent to distributors from the cold storage facilities of dealers, they are typically packed in hard-molded boxes containing anywhere from six to thirty-six eggs per pack.
Going Eggstra mile
The idea of “farm to fork” is appealing to many businesses, but putting it into practice is challenging. The egg business has also been considering this idea for a long time, but they haven’t been able to figure out how to put it into action yet.
“Delivering fresh eggs is always a tough job owing to the fragility of the product,” said Vivek Gupta, Co-Founder of Licious. “We have a leg up in this competition thanks to our personal connections with the chicken growers. However, customer demand is the ultimate determinant of the entire cycle; if demand drops, we will have to transfer the product to cold storage. In order to keep the product fresh, we use sophisticated packaging techniques and maintain very stringent temperature settings in our storage facilities. This helps to decrease food waste, particularly when it comes to eggs. ”
“Demand is the key in any business. If you are dealing or doing business with corporate firms, you know that you need to keep churning your supply chain as the orders keep coming through. However, when you are trading directly with customers, the cycle changes.” The words of Tarun Gupta, Co-Founder of Henfruit, rang true. When doing business on a business-to-consumer model, it is essential to have a state-of-the-art cold storage facility.
India is well-positioned for a positive expansion in the egg processing industry, given that it is one of the world’s top five egg production nations. While states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Kerala dominate this industry at the moment, other states are beginning to catch up, which bodes well for future market growth. Indian egg processing companies have reason to be optimistic about the future, what with all the new ideas and innovations flooding the market and the industry undergoing a complete technical upheaval. Educating the public and raising awareness can help overcome obstacles like the low domestic egg consumption rate and the difficulty of implementing the farm-to-fork concept. This is particularly true in rural areas, where the ratio of malnourished mothers and children is higher.
