French appetite for eggs hits record highs in 2025

France consumed a record number ​of eggs in 2025, driven by ​their affordability amid economic uncertainty, and the ‌trend is ​set to continue, prompting producers to build more hen houses, the French egg industry group said on Thursday.

Demand for eggs has risen across Europe ‌and around the world as they are seen as a cost-effective source of protein, suitable for a wide variety of dishes and dietary preferences. Each French resident ate an average of 237 eggs in 2025, either as ‌shell eggs or processed egg products, up from 227 eggs in 2024, the CNPO industry group ‌said.

Projections from French technical institute ITAVI suggest that demand will keep growing, with estimates of 269 eggs per person annually by 2035, of which 70% would be shell eggs. "In 2020 demand boomed as people stayed at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. We ⁠could have ​expected the trend to ⁠fall but it didn't and instead continued to grow steadily," Emily Mayer from market research firm Circana, told a news conference.

The ⁠strong demand pushed wholesale egg prices up by about 20% over the past year, according to data released by ​farm office FranceAgriMer. Retail prices for shell eggs in supermarkets remained relatively stable, due to a government mechanism ⁠linking food prices to farmers' costs. To meet rising demand, French producers have increased output but production has struggled to keep pace.

The ⁠egg ​industry aims to build 575 new poultry houses by 2035 to accommodate an additional 10 million laying hens. In the meantime, France has relied more on imports which rose 21% in 2025, with Spain, ⁠Belgium, and the Netherlands the main suppliers, according to CNPO.

Direct shipments from Ukraine, a major supplier, remain limited, ⁠but eggs often enter ⁠France via other EU countries, CNPO Chair Yves-Marie Beaudet said. Ukraine is Europe's top foreign egg supplier, with EU imports from Ukraine up 67% in the first ‌10 months of ‌2025, EU data showed.