Egg prices on the supermarket shop shelf have gone up in the region of 72c/dozen, but farmers are only seeing a 10.5c to 12.5c/dozen increase, says Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) poultry committee vice-chair Brendan Soden.
He said the increased price paid by Irish consumers has not been passed back to egg producers in the same way.
At protests at Cavan supermarkets in September and October last year, farmers were calling for an egg price increase of 24c/dozen. Soden then said that such a price increase would only allow farmers to break even.
He described how the current egg price received by Irish producers is also 10c to 20c/dozen behind the UK price and called on retailers and egg packers to step up.
Inputs
The poultry farmer described a margin squeeze where increased shop shelf egg prices are not being passed back down the supply chain to producers and increased input costs are being passed up.
For example, he described how new pullet costs have gone up to €5.93 in January and that this price is set to break €6 in February.
Poultry protest at Aldi and Lidl in Cavan last October.
The increase is down to the breeding companies increasing their price for day-old chicks, said Soden.
Pullet costs were €4.60 in 2021 and €5.85 as recently as September.
The farmer also described how feed, energy and other input costs continue to cripple egg farmers.
Soden explained that egg packers are suggesting that egg prices are lower, as many are going to wholesale, rather than supermarkets.
However, he refuted that this as an acceptable argument as to why higher retail prices haven’t been passed back.
Read more
Poultry farmers ‘facing closure’ protest at Aldi and Lidl
Week-long poultry farmer protest secures egg price rise
Egg prices on the supermarket shop shelf have gone up in the region of 72c/dozen, but farmers are only seeing a 10.5c to 12.5c/dozen increase, says Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) poultry committee vice-chair Brendan Soden.
He said the increased price paid by Irish consumers has not been passed back to egg producers in the same way.
At protests at Cavan supermarkets in September and October last year, farmers were calling for an egg price increase of 24c/dozen. Soden then said that such a price increase would only allow farmers to break even.
He described how the current egg price received by Irish producers is also 10c to 20c/dozen behind the UK price and called on retailers and egg packers to step up.
Inputs
The poultry farmer described a margin squeeze where increased shop shelf egg prices are not being passed back down the supply chain to producers and increased input costs are being passed up.
For example, he described how new pullet costs have gone up to €5.93 in January and that this price is set to break €6 in February.
Poultry protest at Aldi and Lidl in Cavan last October.
The increase is down to the breeding companies increasing their price for day-old chicks, said Soden.
Pullet costs were €4.60 in 2021 and €5.85 as recently as September.
The farmer also described how feed, energy and other input costs continue to cripple egg farmers.
Soden explained that egg packers are suggesting that egg prices are lower, as many are going to wholesale, rather than supermarkets.
However, he refuted that this as an acceptable argument as to why higher retail prices haven’t been passed back.
Read more
Poultry farmers ‘facing closure’ protest at Aldi and Lidl
Week-long poultry farmer protest secures egg price rise
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