Consumers could see egg shortages within “a matter of weeks” unless retailers raise prices to cover rapidly increasing production costs, poultry industry leaders have warned.
The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) said customers were likely to see shortages without urgent action, while the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) said shoppers needed to be paying 40p extra per dozen eggs to avert a catastrophe in the sector.
BEIC predicts 10-15% of egg farmers could leave the industry, with producers losing money on every egg their hens produce.
The organisation says feed cost increases, which have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, have added as much as 30p onto production costs for a dozen eggs.
BEIC chairman, Andrew Joret, said this was in addition to “never-before-seen” increases in all costs from pullets to energy, and labour.
“The tidal wave of cost increases will see many family farms, some of which have been producing eggs for generations, going under in a matter of days, unless something is done quickly,” said Mr Joret.
He said eggs were one of the most undervalued natural wholefoods and added: “Ten years ago, you might typically have paid £1.35 for six medium eggs, which today often cost less than £1 which is a third of the price of a barista coffee.
“Without rapid recognition of the seriousness of the situation, a significant number of producers won’t survive to continue to ensure that one of the nation’s favourite home-produced foods is readily available on the table.”
Mr Jaret said the BEIC had written to the chief executives of the major UK retailers to communicate that unless urgent action was taken in the next two weeks, the normal supply of British eggs to meet consumer demand was under severe threat.
Meanwhile, the BFREPA is calling for an industry crisis meeting with retailers to discuss the situation.
The organisation’s chief executive, Robert Gooch, said: “For months we have been raising the desperate situation with all the major retailers, and they have all ignored the perilous position their farmer suppliers are in.
“There have been small rises in the price of eggs in shops, but that money has evaporated before it gets to the farm gate – it’s the same old story of the farmer at the bottom of the chain being the last to see any price rise.”
NFU Scotland’s poultry chairman, Robert Thompson, backed the calls for action and said egg producers were experiencing substantial losses due to huge rises in input costs.
He said: “Retailers are aware of the demands being put on all food producers, and they must realise that if they ignore these requests the shelves will be empty of eggs, and many other products, in the next couple of months.
“For too long food devaluation has been allowed to happen at the cost of the primary producer; the nation needs to be fed and so retailers must respond in a responsible and fair manner.”