After the culling of many poultry in UK thanks to the fabricated excuse of the avian flu the UK is now rationing on eggs and will be rationing eggs across the UK until Spring 2023 while British supermarkets are rushing to take action.[1]
The media blames this eggs’ shortages due to the largest ever bout of avian flu and its circulating pathogenic variant the fact that many birds were killed to contain the outbreak the fact that due to increased energy bills producers have cut back on the output or have left the industry once and for all and the fact that the cost of chicken feed hens and packaging has become too costly for farmers.
And why not blame the consumers for upping the demand for eggs since due to soaring food bills they are looking for eggs as cheaper sources of protein? The actions lie in the fact that Asda is limiting its customers to two boxes of eggs per person; Lidl is limiting its customers to three boxes in some stores while Waitrose stated that so far it is not imposing any limits albeit customer demand is being monitored.
According to the Guardian Tesco is also thinking about taking action. Other major retailers such as Morrisons Marks & Spencer and Co-op reassured customers that they were receiving adequate supplies and were not restricting sales.
The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) has warned that the shortage is likely to last until Christmas but in the same breath a spokesperson for the association said that it is very difficult to predict and that they can certainly see shortages lasting until after Christmas.
So is the shortage lasting until Christmas until after Christmas or until Spring 2023?
While Andrew Opie director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium added: “Supermarkets source the vast majority of their food from the UK and know they need to pay a sustainable price to egg farmers but are constrained by how much additional cost they can pass on to consumers during a cost-of-living crisis.”
I wonder if this will affect the supply of eggs imported to Malta.
[1]https://www.gbnews.uk/news/eggs-to-be-rationed-across-uk-until-spring-2023-supermarkets-including-tesco-asda-and-lidl-taking-urgent-action/392761