The number of laying hens in Latvia, when compared to 2017, had increased 19.2% in 2018, reaching 3 million, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. Compared to the previous year, the total number of domestic birds has increased 9.3%, reaching 5.4 million, which is the largest index since 1992.
Opposite to the increase of the number of laying hens in Latvia, the number of produced eggs has reduced by 4% – to 768.5 million eggs. Last year, 399 eggs per capita (1.09 eggs per day) were produced by hens in Latvia, which is 14 eggs fewer when compared to 2017. A single Latvian resident consumes 207 eggs a year on average (data for 2016).
Latvia’s Agriculture magazine issue 1928 mentions that in spite of Agriculture Ministry’s efforts to develop poultry industry, it remained largely unchanged (2 million domestic birds). After a decade, however, the report mentioned that the number of birds had doubled. The volume of produced eggs had increased to a point of making it an important export product.
Since the 20s, the number of domestic birds in Latvia has increased by 3.4 million. The variety of type of domestic birds has also expanded – among domestic birds in Latvia there are quails, pearl chicken and ostriches. The number of hens in Latvia has increased by 1 million, and their egg yield has tripled – in 1927 a single hen produced 102 eggs annually, whereas egg production in 2018 is 299 eggs annually.
Information source: BNN
