NFU demands urgent probe into egg supply chain crisis

The NFU has called for an “urgent investigation” by the government into the severe disruption in the egg supply chain.

The union said Defra should investigate whether an “exceptional market conditions” declaration should be made under section 20 of the Agriculture Act 2020.

See also: Egg shortages highlight need for fairer prices, say farmers

UK egg producers and consumers are experiencing severe disruption and some supermarkets, including Asda, Lidl and now Tesco, have chosen to limit the number of boxes of eggs individual shoppers can buy.

Retailers say the UK’s biggest ever avian influenza outbreak, which has seen about two million birds culled on UK farms, is partly to blame for the shortages.

The NFU agreed that avian flu had had an effect, but said retailers failed to recognise soaring costs faced by farmers and did not deliver a fairer price back to the farm – causing poultry businesses to reduce bird numbers and scale back egg production.

Some retailers have decided to import more eggs to make up for the shortfall, sparking fury among UK egg producers who are demanding fairer prices.

Egg supply chain

The NFU said a declaration under section 20 of the Act “would enable Defra to use its statutory powers to provide much-needed support to egg producers whose livelihoods are under threat”.

NFU president Minette Batters said it was “critical” that Defra acts now to give poultry and egg producers “the confidence they need”. She insisted that the current situation is “a prima facie case of severe disturbance to an agricultural market”.

Mrs Batters said: “There are a huge range of issues facing the poultry sector, in particular within the egg supply chain, which have built up over months and which we have been warning of for some time.

“Energy price inflation and supply chain disruption have added to the worst outbreak in avian influenza yet. However, these pressures alone cannot explain empty shelves.”

Rising costs

According to the NFU’s, the cost of feed raw materials has risen by 90% since 2019, but egg prices, as measured by Defra (average packer to producer prices), have only increased by 35% in comparison.

Defra said it was monitoring the situation, but insisted the UK’s food supply chain is “resilient”, adding that no “significant impact” is expected overall.

A spokesperson said: “We understand the difficulties that rising costs, combined with the bird flu outbreak, are causing for farmers and we are working with industry to monitor the egg market.

“The UK’s food supply chain is resilient – there are 38 million laying hens across the country and we are not expecting any significant impact to the overall supply.”