Eggs from chicken farm in the package that preserved for sale. Egg production has started to stabilise in South Africa after last year’s avian flu outbreaks and lower selling prices are likely, at least until the end of September, according to Quantum Foods Holdings. Picture: Supplied
EGG PRODUCTION in South Africa is steadily increasing as the national flock recovers from the 2023 and 2024 outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), and selling prices should drop this year.
Egg production levels would only likely reach pre-2023 levels by the middle of this year, according to South African Poultry Association forecasts. Quantum Food Holdings, a diversified feed and poultry group, said Monday the increase in egg production was expected to result in lower egg selling prices this year to September 30, 2025.
“The risk of HPAI remains high and is expected to remain high for the remainder of the 2025 financial year, with an increased number of outbreaks reported in recent months in the US, Europe and North Africa,” Quantum Foods said in an operational update for the four months to January 31.
It said however that it knew of no South African companies that have been successful in implementing the government’s HPAI voluntary vaccination protocols, because these were “stringent” and "prohibitive."
“To mitigate this risk, the company maintained the strategy introduced in 2024, which involves placing a reduced number of layers in higher risk geographical areas, and sourcing layer hatching eggs from a larger number of regionally diverse breeder farms when compared to the protocol that was in place prior to the 2023 HPAI outbreaks,” Quantum Food’s directors said.
They said the group has seen a “significant improvement” in the sale of its egg and poultry in the four months due to a recovery in its layer flock, no loadshedding, higher egg selling prices and no HPAI outbreaks.
HPAI outbreaks had impacted birds to the value of R37 million in the previous four-month period. HPAI outbreaks in 2023 and 2024 financial years had impacted earnings in those years due to reduced livestock volumes, hatching eggs and table eggs as well as significant cleaning and disinfecting costs.
Also, a big number of loadshedding hours reduced earnings in the previous period. Benefiting the group in the four months was stable feed costs.
The group’s layer flock continued to be rebuilt due to the improved availability of replacement birds as the layer breeding and layer rearing facilities recovered from the 2023 and 2024 HPAI outbreaks.
The higher layer flock numbers contributed to improved farming efficiencies and cost recovery, and coupled with strong demand from external customers, saw increased earnings in the four months.
Quantum’s egg supply was about 70% higher over the previous period. The margin contribution benefit of the higher egg volumes, high levels of operational efficiency at the egg packing stations, cost management and improved overhead cost recovery outweighed the negative effect of a 13% decline in average egg selling prices.
The operational and financial performance of the broiler farming business was satisfactory compared to the previous period.
Day-old broiler chick volumes produced at the Hartbeespoort hatchery increased and benefited from full production activities at the Hartbeespoort breeder farm, which was not in production in the previous period due to an earlier HPAI outbreak.
Total day-old chick production increased by 6%. Live broiler volumes supplied fell by about 2% due to a slight reduction in placement volumes and a marginal decline in the average weight of broilers supplied.
The benefits of improved volumes and better cost and margin management offset increased costs incurred with the intake of raw materials at the Malmesbury Feed Mill. Repairs to the Malmesbury Feed mill intake area, which was damaged during the explosion on June 10, 2024, were completed in December.
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