Brits may struggle to buy eggs this winter as a result of rising costs and avian flu.
Customers at supermarkets including Sainsbury’s and Tesco are reporting empty shelves (though both brands insisted there is sufficient availability for now.) Meanwhile Asda and Lidl are limiting the number of boxes customers can buy in some branches, due to shortages.
The pub company Wetherspoons is serving full English breakfasts without eggs in some cases (but they’re offering alternative items such as hash browns, sausage or onion rings where eggs aren’t available).
The avian flu outbreak could mean we will see an egg shortage during the festive season, The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) says.
They’ve also said a third of hen farmers have either “reduced their flock sizes, paused production temporarily or left the industry altogether”.
The costs of feeding the hens has gone up by around 50% and the price of fuel has increased by 30%, they say. Though the price of eggs has gone up by approximately 45p across all major supermarkets, this extra money isn’t necessarily being extended on to farmers.
As a result, people online have started to notice the egg shortage in local supermarkets.
“Some poultry producers have been facing skyrocketing energy and feed costs for months now, as well as increases in other input costs including fuel, labour and packaging which are all adding to the overall costs of production on farm,” the National Farmers Union (NFU) poultry board chair James Mottershead said.
“We are exploring all avenues to ensure farmers have the confidence they need to continue supplying British eggs to meet demand from shoppers.”