Retail egg sales are on the march for the eleventh year running, rising by 250m in 2017 to top 6 billion for the first time in more than 40 years.
According to the latest data issued by British Lion eggs, annual sales grew by almost 5% in volume and 6% in value.
The egg safety scheme said young people are eating more and consumer confidence in their nutritional benefits is "buoyant".
An acceleration of growth was seen in the final month of the year, following the recent change in official egg safety advice by the Food Standards Agency.
Pregnant women and the elderly can now safely eat runny or even raw eggs under new advice issued by the government’s food safety watchdog almost 30 years after the UK salmonella crisis.
The announcement has helped December 2017 figures show a 9% volume growth and 8% value growth year-on-year.
'Truly flourishing'
Andrew Joret, Chairman of the British Egg Industry Council, said the British love affair with eggs is "alive and well, and truly flourishing".
“Just 15 years ago we were buying only just over 4bn eggs – the rate of growth has been phenomenal and at this rate we could break the 7bn barrier by 2020,” Mr Joret explained.
“Sales are up significantly for the eleventh year running, and the recent change in egg safety advice is likely to lead to more record breaking sales in 2018 as the good news continues to filter through to consumers.”
#EggsMyWay
A £1m plus marketing campaign is currently underway to make sure that message is delivered to consumers.
Reigning Olympic champion gymnast Max Whitlock is spearheading the team, which includes high-profile ambassadors.
The £1m plus recipe marketing campaign, with the theme #EggsMyWay, hopes to promote the culinary and health benefits of eggs in 2018.
Mr Joret continued: “When it comes to eggs, it’s all good news – young people are eating more, consumer confidence in their nutritional benefits is buoyant, and importantly there is still plenty of room for it to grow further.”
Production standards
Despite the goods news for British eggs, the greatest threat to the burgeoning sector appears to be the risk of low standard imports.
Sector by sector post-Brexit analysis by the NFU has identified the risk of low standard imports as the greatest trade threat to the poultry sector.
The NFU's primary concern is production standards - a concern that was heightened recently when US president Donald Trump's commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, said in a speech in London that securing a free trade agreement with the US could hinge on the UK's readiness to abandon EU regulations.
