In-ovo sexing cost dispute escalates in France

However, a serious dispute has now emerged regarding the allocation of costs, estimated at €40-50 million per year. Egg producers are accusing French supermarkets of reneging on previous agreements and are threatening to halt egg supplies.

In a multi-party accord signed in 2023, egg producers, distributors and the retailers agreed to charge a supplement of 59 cents per 100 eggs on the shop prices as a contribution to the investments the producers had to make in the necessary in-ovo sexing equipment. However, that accord was only temporary and expires today (28 February 2025), necessitating new arrangements to continue the practices.

No agreement in sight

Although discussions have been ongoing for several months, there are no signs of an agreement. Retailers aim to widen the scope of any new financial system and include egg wholesalers, but disagreements about the conditions for all parties involved remain a major stumbling block.

“The large supermarkets in our country are blocking every discussion to reach an agreement on the financing, which ultimately would mean that the producers would have to foot the bill,” the interprofessional organisation for the French egg industry, CNPO, says. To their surprise, the supermarkets refused at the last minute – without giving any reason – to participate in a meeting at the department of agriculture which was specifically organised to solve the dispute and reach a new agreement.

No way will the egg producers pay all the cost for the compulsory in-ovo sexing.”

The union of poultry producers, CFA, goes a step further: “There have been many occasions over the last few months when an agreement was in reach but the supermarkets always said ‘no’. A few days before the deadline, the retailers are showing their true colours. They don’t show any respect, not for the minister who invited them to the table and not for the representatives of the egg producers who had already traveled to Paris.”

The organisation adds: “We are disgusted by this attitude. No way will the egg producers pay all the cost for the compulsory in-ovo sexing. We will point blank stop delivering eggs to any supermarket which is responsible for this blockage. We can always export our eggs to other countries where they would get a better price anyway, like the United States where eggs are in short supply because of the severe epidemic of avian influenza.”