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

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.Sponsor message — Morspan Construction. UK market leader in clear‑span steel‑framed poultry buildings, handling planning, design, project management and construction. https://morspan.com | 01291 672 334