Chinese egg giant launches country’s first cage-free mega farm

Sundaily, China’s second-largest egg producer, has begun construction on the country’s largest single-site cage-free egg farm.

The project is located in Jian’ge County, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province. Sundaily is one of the world’s twelve largest egg producers. 

The site will also feature state-of-the-art egg processing facilities, creating a fully integrated production system to supply cage-free shell eggs, liquid eggs, powdered eggs, and other processed egg products.

“In recent years, the global egg market has witnessed a remarkable shift toward cage-free eggs due to a variety of consumer preferences and growing awareness of animal welfare. As the leading egg company in China, Sundaily is always committed to providing the best eggs for Chinese consumers,” says Lei Bo, vice chairman of Techlex Group, the mother company of Sundaily. 

“In 2025, we launched the largest cage-free egg farm in Guangyuan China. We look forward to seeing the rising trend of cage-free eggs in the Chinese market.”

Founded in 2001, Sundaily partners with major retailers such as JD, Sam’s Club, and Walmart, as well as restaurant chains, food service companies, and hotels. The new facility will initially house 300,000 cage-free hens, with plans to expand to one million hens within the next three to five years. 

“Sundaily’s new cage-free egg farm is leading the way in setting higher standards for China’s food quality and animal welfare, reflecting the values of today’s consumers and corporate buyers,” says Mutzu Huang, program director at Shanghai-based consultancy Lever China, which works with China’s major egg producers such as Sundaily on implementing cage-free production methods.

A poll conducted by research and consulting group Lever China and food media agency FTA in 2021 found that 60% of Chinese consumers want food companies to source only eggs from cage-free farms. Seventy-five percent of consumers also said they were more likely to support a brand that uses only cage-free eggs.

Cage-free egg production, in which hens are given the freedom to move in open environments, improves animal welfare and food quality. Research by the European Food Safety Authority has found that cage-free egg farms have up to a 25 times lower rate of contamination by key salmonella strains.

Campaigners in Europe recently reasserted demands for the EU to ban caged animal farming ahead of a policy review expected in 2026. Animal welfare and environmental groups want stipulations introduced to ban substandard meat imports and strengthen labeling standards.