Ukraine's AvangardCo increases 2011 egg production 34 percent

Ukraine shell egg producer AvangardCo saw its total shell egg production come in at 5.955 billion pieces in 2011, up 34.7 percent from 2010's 4.42 billion, according to the company's latest financial report.
This is partially due to the company's increased poultry flock; its laying hens increased to 20.5 million head from 2010's 18.7 million head (9.6 percent), while the overall flock increased to 25.1 million head from 24.3 million head (3.3 percent). AvangardCo also improved its efficiency at its existing farms and commissioned several new egg production facilities, according to the company. In the second half of 2011, the export market environment showed some improvement compared to the first half of 2011, with increased demand for shell eggs having a positive impact on both export and domestic prices. AvangardCo exported over 90 percent of its annual export volumes in the second half of 2011. The total export of shell eggs was 295 million pieces, an increase of 74.6 percent year-on-year. The most rapidly growing export markets were Iraq and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries, which accounted for approximately 60 percent and 38 percent of total exports, respectively. AvangardCo also opened up new export markets to geographies including Armenia, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.