Ep 30 | BEIC CEO Nick Allen — Egg demand breaks 200 per head and trade and welfare tensions

Описание: UK egg consumption is climbing again, but welfare reform, planning and trade policy will determine whether domestic supply keeps up.

Tom Woolman and Tom Willings speak with BEIC CEO Nick Allen, eight months into the job after a career in soft fruit, on what the Government’s animal welfare strategy means for the sector.

Mr Allen sets out the BEIC’s remit across 11 trade bodies and the Lion Food Safety Scheme, then previews a £1.5m consumer campaign for 2026 aimed at health, protein and convenience, with millennials a key audience.

The demand signals are strong. UK sales hit 13.6 billion eggs in 2024 (around 26,000 a minute) and per‑capita consumption is put at 209 eggs a year, up from 199. Kantar points to roughly 5% volume growth through 2025.

On enriched colony cages, the consultation’s preferred 2032 end‑date (options range to 2038) raises feasibility questions. Replacing 6–7m hens could mean around 200 standard 32,000‑bird free‑range units and 2,500–3,000 hectares of land, on top of £400m+ already invested in the last transition out of conventional cages to colony.

Trade equivalence is the other pressure point. Ukrainian egg product imports have risen to around 11,000 tonnes in the year to Sept 2025, largely into manufacturing and foodservice and typically around 20% under UK equivalents. The UK is extending tariff‑free access from 31 March 2026 to 31 March 2028, while the EU runs a tariff‑rate quota.

Also covered are beak trimming progress via the Laying Hen Welfare Forum and why “zero‑day” in‑ovo sexing is the key milestone for male chicks.

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00:00 Return of the Hosts
00:52 Introduction of Guest: Nick Allen
02:10 Sponsor Highlight: Morespan Construction
03:26 Could you just lay out in basic terms what the BEIC is, what it does, and what your role is?
04:58 The British Lion Food Safety Scheme
07:04 What are the concerns regarding the UK government's proposal to phase out colony cages in egg production?
12:18 UK vs European Welfare Standards
14:09 Trends in Egg Consumption
19:48 What might be the worst case scenario if a hard stop is put on 2032 for replacing 6 million or 7 million birds?
24:11 Industry Challenges and Closing Discussion