UK shoppers are currently facing a depleted supply of eggs which has resulted in supermarkets inflating the price of egg cartons and restricting the number of cartons a customer can purchase. Farmers have cut back or halted production because of rising costs - a situation made worse by the Avian flu outbreak. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has said that yields of energy-intensive crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and pears were likely to hit their lowest level this year since records began in 1985.

"I fear the country is sleepwalking into further food supply crisis, with the future of British fruit and vegetable supplies in trouble,” NFU president Minette Batters told British media outlet BBC. "Shoppers up and down the country have for decades had a guaranteed supply of high-quality affordable food produced to some of the highest animal welfare, environmental and food safety standards in the world," Batters added.

The NFU urged the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to fulfil “the promises he made in August this year.” NFU have insisted that Sunak make British food and farming a political priority. The union has said that a new food security target needed to be established which monitors food production levels across the country. They also want Sunak to keep his promise of holding an annual food security summit. Other demands include introducing a new target for public sector organisations to buy fifty per cent of their food locally. 

The reason for the UK's egg shortage

Various factors including an avian flu outbreak, supply issues and the cost of production have contributed to the current shortages in egg supply, British Retail Consortium (BRC) told BBC News. Farmers have also blamed retailers for not paying a fair price for eggs as production costs soar.

As Russia and Ukraine are major producers of wheat which is a key ingredient in chicken feed, experts are saying that the war in Ukraine is also having an indirect effect on the economic crisis in the UK. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told BBC that there were a number of factors behind the current shortage: "We understand the difficulties that rising costs for feed and energy over the last year, combined with the bird flu outbreak, are causing issues for farmers and we are working with industry to monitor the egg market."

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