Appeals from several sources, made to the supermarkets to improve prices paid for their eggs, fell, in the main, on stony ground. Their responses were deafening in their silence.
What did they do instead? Of course, LOWER their prices.
As an example, Morrisons reportedly reduced a pack of 30 from £3.40 to £2.99, a whole 10% fall, down to 10p/egg.
Now, while this is good news for those featured in last month’s Poverty article, it is a kick in the teeth for egg producers.
The confidence shown by the supermarkets that they can replace UK products from elsewhere, in the event of too much depletion of home-produced stock, due to unsustainable costs, suggests they may be living in cloud cuckooland?
Where on the continent is there enough spare free-range material? Nowhere.
The US “pasture-raised” eggs are also not acceptable due to differences in welfare conditions compared to our own.
Prices on the continent are at much the same level as UK anyway, so no benefit can be offered.
There is only one answer. INCREASE prices in the supermarkets before it is too late. Other agricultural commodities are increasing in price. Why not eggs?
