Egg shortage has Mzansi in a spin

THE avian flu has had a huge impact on South African consumers with eggs and chicken prices being affected by the outbreak.

Month-end usually means grocery shopping but many of us were left shaken when going to our local Pick n Pays, Woolworths, Checkers or Makro stores to find the shelves empty.

Eggs are a staple and one product that can be used in many ways, in many dishes and loved by many.

Rows are usually filled with different egg ranges from 6, 18, 30 and 60 packs laid out for consumers to choose from – free-range, jumbo size or extra large but now things have changed.

If you do find eggs at your favourite store, be prepared to pay a fortune for them.

@ms_tourist tweeted: “Eggs are a R1 million, Petrol is now R30 a litre, double ply tissue feels like a single ply, a chicken wing is sold as half and charged as a full wing.”

Ms Tourist is not the only one complaining about the price of eggs or the shortage. Many South Africans are now forced to limit the number of eggs that they use.

Retailers are also finding themselves in a predicament of how to supply their customers with their beloved eggs and have had to place restrictions on the number of eggs that a customer is allowed to buy.

Yes, things are that bad! Woolworths and Pick n Pay have put a cap on their egg sales, with customers being limited to one pack size purchase.

At Woolworths, one is lucky to even find an 18-pack of eggs, with only six packs available which retail from R24.99 to R47.99.

At Pick n Pay, if your local store does have stock, consumers can get a 30-pack for R109.99 and at Checkers R99 per pack.

Spar retails a 30-pack for R99.99 – that is if there is stock.

Things have got so bad that retailers are not even advertising eggs in their weekly specials pamphlets.