‘Retailers are to blame for egg shortage’

Egg producers are not being paid enough to persuade them to ramp up production anytime soon, says Tayside farmer Michael Arbuckle.

He keeps 64,000 laying hens at Lundie Castle Farm, by Dundee, and has been in the free-range egg sector since 2012.

While fully committed to continuing to produce eggs despite a massive rise in costs this year, he is critical of supermarkets for letting the current retail shortage get so bad.

“There was a bit of an oversupply situation with eggs a couple of years ago and that created the opportunity for the supermarkets to squeeze what they paid to producers,” he said.

“As a result, we’ve had to endure a downward spiral in returns which has led to former production sheds being left empty and a lot of producers giving up and leaving the business.”

The impact of the war in Ukraine and the resulting rise in feed, energy and transport costs hasn’t helped. From paying £230 a tonne for feed at the beginning of this year, Mr Arbuckle says his feed bill is now running at £390 a tonne.

Packaging and distribution costs have also soared.

Asked by how much his sales income has risen in recent weeks as the national egg shortage has kicked in, he replied: “Not enough. While supermarkets have raised prices by about 60p a dozen, what they’re paying me has gone up by 15p a dozen.

“This has basically put me back on the sort of income level I needed prior to the war in Ukraine. It’s not enough to cope with today’s costs.”

He also doesn’t buy the line that the egg shortage is all about the impact of bird flu on hen numbers.

“That is what the supermarkets want consumers to think but it is absolute rubbish,” he said.

“Bird flu has had an effect, but only to a minimal degree.

“The main problem is that producers haven’t been, and aren’t being, paid enough, and that has been going on for a while.”

The switch from up to 50% of eggs being produced from caged hens to freerange and barn-based production systems has had an impact.

“I obviously support the move, but it has created a gap to be filled, with the need for producers to invest in new sheds and new systems,” he said.

“And the money just isn’t there to persuade them to do that.”

As for the prospect of getting egg supplies back to normal, Mr Arbuckle said there wasn’t any great indication of producers reinvesting in new or expanded production units.

“It would take a minimum of four months from someone starting a new egg business to actually producing eggs,” he said. “In reality, it would be more like six months. As such, I don’t see the present supply situation changing very rapidly.”

‘DOWNWARD SPIRAL’: The main reason for the current national egg shortage is that producers are not being paid enough, according to Tayside farmer Michael Arbuckle.