Tesco rations eggs to just three boxes

TESCO has rationed eggs to no more than three boxes per customer as concerns over shortages escalate.

The move follows similar decisions to limit purchases by Asda, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and Ocado amid empty shelves nationwide.

Sainsbury’s is importing eggs from caged hens in Italy, breaking a policy to sell only free range.

A number of restaurant chains are also struggling for supplies. Some Wetherspoons pubs have removed eggs from breakfast fry-ups.

The decision by Tesco appears to be linked with Britain’s biggest bird flu epidemic, which has led to a cull of some flocks.

However, farmers insist that many supermarkets have given up on egg production amid soaring costs.

The war in Ukraine has increased the cost of hen feed, while higher energy and fuel costs are also squeezing producers.

Prices have risen in the past year with the Office for National Statistics reporting a 35 per cent increase in the cost of a dozen eggs.

The British Free Range Egg Producers Association says farmers are losing 29p per dozen eggs.