Egg prices in the USA and EU have risen sharply after the outbreak of bird flu and the subsequent mass culling of laying hens to stop the spread of the disease. In Sweden, the industry has managed to avoid the disease for another season.
Sweden is in full production and there will be plenty of Swedish eggs, says Marie Lönneskog Hogstadius, operations manager at the organization Svenska Ägg.
A bird flu outbreak at a pheasant farm in Kristianstad municipality created some alarm in February, but has not spread further. The last major outbreak of bird flu in the Swedish egg industry was in 2021.
Is it luck or skill?
There is a long tradition of working with disease control, but it's not certain that we are better than other countries. There is probably a great variation, says Malin Grant, veterinary epidemiologist at the National Veterinary Institute.
Sweden has, however, not had problems with the spread of disease between farms, as other countries have had, she emphasizes.
In outbreaks we have seen earlier, there has been transmission from wild birds. It is a testament to the fact that the industry has managed to prevent the spread between farms.
EU Export
Håkan Burlin, CEO of egg supplier Stjärnägg, believes it is a combination of being skilled in Sweden and also having had a bit of luck.
It's not that they are extremely bad at this in Europe, it's just that very large values are being lost.
Sweden has never been a major egg exporter, but as countries like Hungary, Poland, and Italy are now experiencing shortages, a greater demand is seen. The price increases have also made it possible to export without loss.
Right now, it has been advantageous to export as prices have been so high, says Burlin.
Several factors also suggest that exports, which are still small, may increase.
Increased Production
Partly, Sweden's production is expected to increase – according to Håkan Burlin, it may reach as much as 115 percent self-sufficiency. Partly, the EU's shortage may become permanent, among other things, as the exporting country the Netherlands is drastically reducing its production and several countries are transitioning from cage production to free-range hens.
In this way, Sweden has a better situation to be an exporting egg country than we have had historically.
Both he and Marie Lönneskog Hogstadius emphasize that the Swedish market is prioritized.
I don't think anyone will be left without eggs on the shelves due to exports. We ensure that Swedish consumers get eggs first, says Lönneskog Hogstadius.
Bird flu is one of the most serious diseases that exist in poultry. It is caused by the bird flu virus and can cause sudden outbreaks with very high mortality rates in poultry. Outbreaks are most common in domestic chickens and turkeys, but all bird species are assumed to be susceptible to the disease.
Outbreaks have occurred at irregular intervals on all continents and have historically affected Asia severely. In recent years, a bird flu virus variant (H5N1) has spread globally with migratory waterfowl.
Bird flu was first detected in Sweden in 2006.
Findings of sick or dead wild birds can be reported to the National Veterinary Institute (SVA) to increase knowledge of the disease situation for bird flu and other diseases in wild birds, via rapporteravilt.sva.se
Source: National Veterinary Institute
