Farmers warn of egg price rises

It could be toast for the humble boiled egg as producers warned today of a 50 per cent price increase thanks to an increase in feed costs.

Shoppers are already feeling the pinch from a rise in chicken, pork and beef prices as farmers struggle to contend with the global shortage of wheat.

Although egg sales are up three per cent on last year, industry experts said the market was unsustainable.

The British Egg Products Association (BEPA) warned that food manufacturers and caterers could expect significant price rises for egg products over the next few weeks, including sandwich fillings, scotch eggs, plus eggs in liquid and powdered form.

BEPA chairman Clive Frampton said: "The cost of feed accounts for around half the cost of egg production and has nearly doubled this year.

"Wheat prices have risen as a result of the poor harvest across Europe, increased global demand for cereals for biofuels and increased meat consumption in developing countries.

"As a consequence food manufacturers and caterers are facing price rises of around 50 per cent."

The NFU said farmers would not automatically see a benefit, however, as the supermarket squeeze continued.

Telford National Farmers' Union spokesman Oliver Cartwright said: "As production costs increase and feed prices rocket there has to be change to allow the farming industry to cope and we hope some of the increase in food prices will benefit the industry at the farm gate.

"For a long time farm gate prices have lagged behind rises in production costs and in the cost of living.

"Food has never been cheaper, with consumers spending less than nine per cent of their income on food compared with 22 per cent just 40 years ago. Therefore food price increases are both affordable and needed.

"Many of the problems that have made farming so difficult over the past decades can ultimately be traced to the drive for cheap food at any cost, not just in the UK but around the world."

The crisis threatens to overshadow British Egg Week, which gets under way on Monday, and the golden anniversary celebrations of British Lion eggs.

Elwyn Griffiths, director of Oaklands Farm Eggs in Wem, said: "Our feed costs have doubled this year following the huge rise in wheat prices and we need a 20p increase per dozen eggs to cover this.

"British Egg Week is a key promotional period for the industry so we are hoping we can reinforce what great value high quality food eggs are."

By Rural Affairs Correspondent Nathan Rous