Welsh Farmer Predicts Year-long Egg Shortage

A farmer says there may not be enough eggs for another year in stores. The industry is facing many problems.

Llyr Jones, who supplies Tesco with 32,000 hens, says many farmers left the industry because of high energy bills, bird flu outbreak, Ukraine crisis, and consumer preference for uncaged hens.

Supermarkets are limiting egg purchases due to a shortage. Asda and Lidl customers can only buy two and three boxes respectively.

DEFRA has released data showing that egg production has dropped by almost 25% in the first three months of 2023. This is in comparison to the same time frame in 2022.

BBC reports that egg production in England and Wales has decreased by 2.9% in the last three months. The number of dozens produced is now 121 million.

Egg imports increased by 11% from last year.

. Many supermarkets are setting limits for shoppers who want to buy boxes. This is because stocks are running low. Limits ensure that everyone can have enough.

The amount of eggs produced has gone down by 2.9%. This happened in three months.

Egg supply in the UK is predicted to remain low until next year. Llyr Jones gave this warning to shoppers.

Mr. Jones' bird feed expenses have increased. It used to be £30,000 every month, but it has risen to £50,000. The increase in costs is due to the Ukraine crisis. Ukraine is one of the biggest bird feed producers worldwide.

Mr Jones said to the BBC that many farmers chose not to restock their farms. This caused a high demand for eggs and the prices rose.

He asked people to be patient about when eggs will return to supermarkets. Farmers are starting to re-stock their flocks but it might take another year for the stocks to be fully replenished.

Prices for eggs have gone up this year for us farmers. Fortunately, our costs have gone down somewhat. So, we need to make back the money we lost last year.

It takes almost a year for a farmer to produce eggs from scratch. Due to the high prices of eggs, some farmers are buying hens ahead of time. But it'll still take a year before those eggs hit the market.

Please have patience and wait a moment.

Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said that supermarkets obtain most of their food from the UK and must pay farmers a fair price to continue to do so.

British farmers are under a lot of pressure. Retailers are now paying more for their produce. But retailers also have extra expenses. They're working hard to stop prices from going up for consumers. This is important because many people can't afford basic things right now. It's a cost-of-living crisis.

Sainsbury's talked to Mail Online. They said they know farming is hard. They understand that farmers who give them eggs have problems too. This makes it hard for them to make enough eggs.

The egg farmers who work with us are having a tough time. We don't buy eggs from them directly. However, we have been increasing the amount we pay our packers and producers for eggs over the past year. We have invested £27.2 million more than we had to in order to help them cope with inflation.

. 70 important people in the food industry, such as Caleb Cooper from Clarkson's Farm, met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the 'Farm to Fork' summit on Tuesday.

Tesco sells more white eggs now because of problems with getting other kinds.

In February, Tesco said they sold more white eggs. It was because there were problems with the supply chain.

In 2020, people bought more eggs because of the pandemic. This led to white eggs being sold in grocery stores. Now, white eggs are becoming more common in egg boxes.

Mr. Jones said egg consumption in the UK is increasing by 3% per year.

He said that eggs are one of the cheapest proteins available due to the cost of living crisis.

Around 70 key players in the food industry talked with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday. This happened during the 'Farm to Fork' summit organized by the government.

New reviews will start in Autumn for eggs and horticulture sectors. The reviews will provide support to these sectors.

Geraint Hughes, an agricultural consultant at Lafan Consultancy Group thinks that yearly reviews do not offer sufficient support to the industry.

He said annual reviews are not reliable. Things can change quickly. The statement was made to Mail Online.

Supermarkets struggle with handling sudden market changes for fresh produce. They don't have the right systems in place. This situation happens a lot.