A transformative shift is taking place across China’s egg production landscape, with momentum building in cage-free transitions throughout 2024. Through sustained engagement and strategic support from Lever China, six producers have initiated first-time cage-free transitions, contributing to a total shift of 651,000 hens from conventional cage systems.

Leading the charge are major industry players Luxue and Jinyi, two of China’s largest processed egg suppliers. Luxue has committed to transitioning 50,000 hens to cage-free systems by year-end 2024, while Jinyi has already shifted 40,000 hens—marking the first cage-free implementations for both companies.

The movement extends beyond industry giants, with regional producers making substantial commitments. Panchu in Nanjing province is transitioning 50,000 hens, while Shandong-based Fuziyuan and Huanshan are shifting 10,000 and 5,000 hens respectively. Sichuan’s Biaogan has initiated a pilot program with 3,000 hens.

Established cage-free adopters are deepening their commitments. Notably, Happy Egg expanded its cage-free operations by 110,000 hens across its Jiangsu and Hainan facilities, while Tudama and Pianguan Yongao each reached milestones of 200,000 cage-free hens. Other significant expansions include Xinde’s addition of 80,000 hens and Danxiansen and Yangsheng each, reaching 100,000 cage-free hens.

This systemic change extends to distribution networks, with Shanghai’s largest distributor, Xinhuayuan, beginning cage-free sourcing for the first time. Another major distributor, Ai Ge, has initiated cage-free purchasing equivalent to 20,000 laying hens transitioning from conventional systems.

These transitions reflect three to five years of sustained industry engagement, highlighting how persistent collaboration and technical support can drive meaningful change in agricultural practices across China’s egg production sector.