Documentation of statistics Egg production
Statistical presentation
Data description
The egg production statistitics contain monthly data on the number of class A and B eggs produced. A plant’s egg volume includes both eggs purchased directly from farmers and those produced by the plant itself. The data is based on data collected from packaging plants four times a year.
Classification system
Data is available for the whole of Finland.
Egg statistics are compiled in the following classes:
Class A, class B och A and B class total by method of production:
• Hen house with battery cages
• Barn hen house
• Free range hen house
• Organic poultry farm
Sector coverage
The statistics cover nearly all egg packaging plants approved by the Finnish Food Authority.
Statistical concepts and definitions
Class A eggs are fresh, unbroken, and clean eggs sold in a store. Class B eggs are deformed and cracked, and therefore do not meet the quality standards of class A but are viable for the use of the food industry.
Statistical unit
The data is collected from egg packaging plants.
Statistical population
The statistics cover nearly all egg packaging plants approved by the Finnish Food Authority.
Unit of measure
The production of eggs is presented in kilogrammes and in millions of kilogrammes.
Reference period
Quarter of a year and a year.
Legislation and other agreements
The statistics are compiled based on the Act on the Natural Resources Institute Finland (561/2014), the Act on Food and Natural Resource Statistics (562/2014), and the Statistics Act (280/2004).
More information: Statistics legislation
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a base principle of statistics and assures the confidential processing of data provided by informants, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland has undertaken to follow this principle.
More information: Privacy policy – Statistics
Release policy
The disseminations of the Natural Resources Institute Finland are published online on weekdays at 9:00. Data is public after it has been published on the website.
Release calendar
The publication dates are confirmed in autumn together with the action plans. The release calendar of the following year is published for users in the end of the year. The release calendar holds data on the dates of future publications. The calendar also contains direct links to already published statistical publication.
8.2 Release calendar access
Statistical releases calendar | Natural Resources Institute Finland
Quality management
Quality assurance
The Natural Resources Institute Finland follows the Code of Practice and the Quality Assurance Framework of European statistics when compiling statistics. The Code of Practice concern the independence and accountability of statistics authorities, and the quality of processes and published data. The principles are compatible with and supplement the Principles of Official Statistics, agreed upon by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The quality criteria of official statistics in Finland are also compatible with the Code of Practice of European statistics. The principles are also compatible with the European Foundation for Quality Management.
The response material of the statistics is reviewed and edited on a monthly basis. Additionally, the non-response is investigated based on variable background information.
Quality assessment
The response material of the statistics is reviewed and edited on a monthly basis. Additionally, the non-response is investigated based on variable background information.
Relevance
User needs
Users of the statistics includes the government, research, agricultural and food industries, and unions of agricultural producers. International users of the data include the Statistical Office of the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Accuracy and reliability
Overall accuracy and reliability
The reliability of the number of eggs received by packaging plants is good, since data is collected from nearly all egg packaging plants.
Timeliness, punctuality and comparability
Timeliness
Data for egg production in January, February, and March is available at the beginning of May, data for April, May, and June at the beginning of August, data for July, August, and September at the beginning of November, and data for October, November and December at the beginning of February. The annual statistics for egg production are available in February. The data in the statistics is complete. The annual statistics for egg production are available in February. The data in the statistics is final.
Comparability - over time
Data comparable to the current statistics is available starting from year 2005.
The data on the production volume of eggs is comparable starting from year 2001, after which the data has been collected from egg packaging plants. Until the year 2000 the production volume of eggs was based on the Farm Survey, which was a sample survey, and the production volume of eggs included the on-farm usage of both packaged and unpackaged eggs.
The statistics contain information on the on-farm usage of eggs (use in food industry and direct sales) until the year 2011. Statistics on this have not been compiled since 2011.
Statistical processing
Source data
The data collection set is based on the register of approved packaging plants, maintained by the Finnish Food Authority. The data collection set is revised yearly.
Frequency of data collection
Data is collected monthly from the largest packaging plants and four times a year from other packaging plants.
Data collection
Data on the production volume of eggs is collected monthly from the largest packaging plants through a web application, together with the data collection for the producer price index of eggs. Data is collected four times a year from other packaging plants as follows: Data for January, February, and March is collected in April; data for April, May, and June is collected in July; data for July, August, and September is collected in October; and data for October, November, and December is collected in January.
Data validation
If for example an abnormally large observation is spotted during the data compilation process, the authenticity of data is reviewed.
Data compilation
Faulty data is fixed mainly by hand.
If data is not received in time from a packaging plant, the missing data is imputed using the averages of said packaging plant. The correct data will be included in the statistics whenever it is received from the packaging plant.