Supermarkets must pay right price for eggs’

FARMERS CALL FOR FAIRNESS AS COSTS SKYROCKET

- AMBER EDWARDS

 

FARMERS are calling for ‘transparency and fairness in the food chain’ as costs skyrocket, forcing some to stop restocking hens and even cull them early to prevent further losses.

While some supermarkets still have packed shelves, others are looking increasingly bare and some of Plymouth, and the UK’s, supermarkets have recently introduced strict caps on how many eggs customers can purchase.

However, many farmers are still producing a consistent amount of eggs and say the problem is down to supermarkets’ own supply.

Pete Olds, farmer and partner at Cornhill Farm, Cornwall, has 14,000 free range hens. He explained they gave up their supermarket contract three years ago and now focus primarily on local sales – a decision he says has made them far happier and much more satisfied. But for commercial farmers producing for supermarkets, with the huge increase in costs this year, they are looking at an average loss of 29p per dozen eggs.

Pete, 37, said: “Farmers out there are making huge losses and supermarkets are just not passing on the inflation they’ve put on their prices in the supermarket.”