Farmers have warned that supermarkets could be packed with cartons of Polish eggs as retailers turn to foreign suppliers in the face of escalating food prices, stated a report on Sunday (22).
Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union, warned there was a risk that more shops could start sourcing from overseas.
“I speak to retailers who are saying we will be importing more Polish eggs which are produced to lower standards, so we really need to be focusing on and planning for the next year,” Telegraph quoted Batters as saying.
“All the retailers that haven’t made strong commitments to British sourcing will be looking abroad. We must allow British farmers to be competitive with their EU partners.”
Reports are also quoting farmers saying that “the government will use this [country] as a dumping ground for cheap food from all over the world”.
Robert Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association, said there were currently no issues with the availability of UK products, but “we have warned that unless free range and organic farmers are paid a fair price they will quit the industry and this will cause egg shortages – possibly as early as this winter. Retailers will no doubt be making contingency plans.”
Egg farmers are dealing with soaring input costs, which have gone up by almost a third since the start of the year. They are now demanding a better price for their produce.
A recent survey suggested that more than 70 percent of British egg producers would leave the sector if payments do not go up.
Supermarkets, on the other hand, have promised to keep prices down and are reportedly not ready to increase their costs.
To use this website you must be aged 18 years or over. Please verify your age before entering the site.
