Editing Free-range eggs (section)

==Cost==
Based on data in the European Commission's socio-economic report published in 2004,<ref name="European Commission 2004">European Commission, 2004. Study on the socio-economic implications of the various systems to keep laying hens. Final Report for The European Commission, submitted by Agra CEAS Consulting Ltd., 2120/CC/December 2004. in [http://www.ciwf.org.uk/resources/publications/poultry_laying_hens/default.aspx Compassion in World Farming report - Alternatives to the barren battery cage]</ref> (prior to battery cages being banned in the EU) it cost €0.66 to produce 12 battery eggs, €0.82 to produce 12 barn eggs and €0.98 to produce 12 free-range eggs. This means that in 2004, one free-range egg cost 2.6 cents more to produce than a battery egg, and a barn egg cost 1.3 cents more to produce than a battery egg. The Commission's report concludes that, if costs were to increase by 20%, which it says is the type of percentage increase in terms of variable costs that producers are likely to face as a result of switching to free-range, the industry will potentially suffer a loss of producer surplus of €354 million (EU-25).<ref name="European Commission 2004"/> The margins achieved by producers for barn and free-range eggs are appreciably higher than those that were available for battery eggs. The Commission's socio-economic report shows that margins for free-range eggs were around twice as high as those for battery eggs.<ref name="European Commission 2004"/>