There isn’t a spare egg to be had in Ireland, as a result of escalating input costs, a lack of confidence in the industry and retailers not paying farmers enough, poultry farmers have said.

Egg producers have left houses idle this year, as costs have escalated, but the money hasn’t flown from the supermarkets, Nigel Sweetnam, IFA poultry chair told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“Some supermarkets are taking too large a mark-up and not passing enough on to the farmer, which is impacting the shortage of eggs,” he said.

He noted the variation in the price of eggs between the north and south of the country.

“The difference between the average price range of eggs is €1.49 here and £2.05 in the North.”

Last week, Lidl confirmed it had moved to import eggs due to a supply shortage in Ireland.

“In order to ensure there is a limited impact on our customers, Lidl Ireland will temporarily source a small number of barn eggs from a quality certified German supplier for a limited time, until such time as our Irish suppliers can fulfil our customer demand,” a Lidl spokesperson said.

Sweetnam questioned why Lidl has moved to import eggs when they are scarce in Germany as well.

“Across Europe we are still dealing with the after effects of avian flu and there is a huge shortage of eggs across Europe. As meat has gotten more expensive, there has been a big switchover to eggs.

“Lidl’s strategy of buying eggs has always been short-term, with six-month contracts at most, but for a future in egg production, we need long-term contracts with stability,” Sweetnam noted.

Garret Bannon, who produces eggs in Cavan, highlighted that the shortage of eggs is due to retailers and packers not offering financial incentives and security to farmers.

“Lidl’s policy of buying cheap produce is coming back to bite it, there is no spare egg in the system, yet other retailers are not short, so Lidl is at fault. It is selling German eggs beside the Irish ones, I don’t believe importing eggs is being sustainable.

“The confidence is very low in the industry, as you don’t know what money you will receive on a day-to-day basis. In 2020, I had two hen houses and the packer rang me one morning saying that they couldn’t take any of the eggs and I was left with numerous trays all gone to waste.

“I appreciate they are under pressure to get requirements from the retailer, but this is a physical and mental blow for farmers and it’s all out of the producers’ control,” Bannon said.

Nigel Sweetnam (left).

Uncertainty

Bannon said that the shortage of eggs comes down to many people getting out of poultry, new environmental contracts and policies and farmers cutting back due to the uncertainty.

“For producers who are established and have facilities, the blow is not as bad, as to set up a new poultry shed up to Teagasc requirements you would be looking at around €1.4m. Who would invest that sort of money with no return on investment guaranteed? If poultry farmers do not earn a viable return on investment, it’s not worth our while and I can’t see there being a future in the industry. At the end of the day, we have bills to pay and families to look after, like everyone else. English poultry farmers are making a lot more money than we are and they have guaranteed contracts, which gives them peace of mind,” he said.

The IFA poultry chair believes there is a future for the egg farmer, but believes more needs to be done to ensure farmers get paid enough for their produce. “There is a future in the egg industry, but something needs to be done to ensure the money flows to the farmer. The retailers need to take a smaller margin or give more of the margin to the farmer.”