The Daily Telegraph

Crack on with buying eggs, says Tesco as rivals start rationing

Supermarke­ts split over limits for customers after supply chains put to test by bird flu and Ukraine war

- By Tom Haynes

TESCO, the supermarke­t chain, has said shoppers can buy as many eggs as they wish after rival chains restricted the number customers could purchase.

An outbreak of bird flu and the war in Ukraine have caused shortages, and Asda announced this week its customers would be limited to two boxes each.

Lidl said it would be imposing threebox limits in some stores, but other chains, including Tesco and Waitrose, have so far resisted placing limits on their customers.

Rising energy costs and more expensive feed have also squeezed the market, according to Mintec, the food analyst, which said the supply of eggs had declined nearly 10 per cent from this time last year and prices could, therefore, soon rise.

Britain is enduring its worst bout of bird flu and earlier this month the Government ruled all captive birds and poultry had to be kept indoors.

Rutika Ghodekar, of Mintec, said: “If farmers have to keep birds indoors, they will need to pay more to give them extra care and support. We will see prices rise. Christmas is approachin­g, which means more baking.” But Tesco, the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons said they had not put in place limits on purchases. A spokesman for Waitrose said it would monitor the situation.

Hundreds of thousands of hens were culled this year because of bird flu, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Associatio­n (BFREPA).

Graham Soult, of Cannyinsig­hts, a retail consultanc­y, said customers’ panic buying of eggs was reminiscen­t of the early days of the pandemic when toilet rolls and dried pasta were stockpiled. “If you’re a supermarke­t and you’re in a situation where you are running out of eggs – because of your own supply issues or not – it makes sense to get things on even keel,” he said.

“But, ultimately, it comes down to supply chains, and different supermarke­ts get their eggs from different places. In any case, eggs don’t last forever so it is a bit more self-regulating in that you can’t buy enough to last for the year.”

The British Retail Consortium, a supermarke­t trade body, said supply chains had been affected by bird flu, but shops and supermarke­ts would attempt to minimise any impact on customers.

Andrew Opie, its director of food and sustainabi­lity, said: “While avian flu has disrupted the supply of some egg ranges, retailers are experts at managing supply chains and are working hard to minimise the impact on customers.”

An Asda spokesman said: “We are working with our suppliers to resolve the industry challenges … affecting supermarke­ts. To make sure as many customers as possible can buy eggs we have introduced a temporary limit of two boxes per customer.” Lidl did not respond to requests for comment.

The average price of a dozen eggs has risen by about 50p in supermarke­ts but some farmers are only being paid between 5p and 10p more, BFREPA said. In March, the trade body called on retailers to increase the price they paid to farmers by 40p per dozen.

COUNCILS are to mount a £12billion raid after being handed the freedom to increase taxes on households without triggering a local vote.

The budget watchdog warned that the average band D council tax bill is expected to jump by £250 by 2027-28 as local authoritie­s raise extra money to help pay for social care.

Jeremy Hunt confirmed that councils would be able to increase bills by up to 5 per cent per year without prompting a referendum of local voters from April, up from a maximum of 3 per cent previously. The Chancellor also announced a two-year delay to the introducti­on of the £86,000 cap any person can pay towards social care over their lifetime as he sought to rein in costs.

The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibi­lity) said council tax was on course to rise by almost a third over the next five years as the change is expected to bring in an extra £5billion by 2027-28.

It will push average council tax bills in many areas above £2,000 for the first time.

Council tax revenue will jump from £42billion this year to £54.1billion in 2027-28 as local leaders are expected to maximise the increases available to them.

Under Mr Hunt’s changes, council tax can increase by up to 3 per cent with an extra 2 per cent jump allowed for local authoritie­s providing social care to adults. It marks a large increase compared with the 2 per cent and 1 per cent limits previously set.

Council budgets have been put under extreme pressure by inflation and demand for services such as social care.

The significan­t increase to the council tax cap received a lukewarm reception from local government leaders despite it providing the sector with a funding boost.

Tim Oliver, chairman of the County Councils Network, said that some councils would be reluctant to increase council taxes by 5 per cent in areas where bills are already highest during a cost of living crisis.

James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Associatio­n, said: “Council tax has never been the solution to meeting the long-term pressures facing services, particular­ly highdemand services like adult social care, child protection and homelessne­ss prevention.” He warned that the measures would raise different amounts of money in different parts of the country and be borne by residents. John O’connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the “bombshell” decision to allow councils to increase taxes would hit “household budgets hard”. He added: “Councils that refuse to keep costs down should have to justify bumper rises at the ballot box.”

Research by Grant Thornton found last month that one in six councils could run out of money by early next year amid a £7.3billion funding shortfall by 2025-26.

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