Supermarkets limit egg sales due to ‘supply issues’

Some supermarkets are beginning to ration the number of cartons of eggs customers can buy, due to supply issues.

Notably, stores including Asda and Lidl have put a limit on the number of boxes of eggs customers can purchase in their stores. Asda has reportedly limited this to two boxes of eggs per customer, while Lidl is reportedly limiting the number to three boxes per customer.

This move comes amid the rising costs being faced by UK poultry farmers and an outbreak of avian flu. This has had a knock-on effect on the supply of eggs.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, inflation rose to 11.1% with food inflation at 16.2%.

The British Retail Consortium has responded to the latest CPI inflation figures, stating the energy price cap rising in October has pushed inflation “to a new high”.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Food prices, particularly for dairy, rose again, driven up by high fertiliser, animal feed and global food costs.

“Retailers face an £800m per year hike in business rates from April 2023, so urgent government action is needed to mitigate this and prevent even higher inflation in the new year.

“The Budget is also a chance to fix the broken transitional relief scheme, that forces retailers to pay far more business rates than they owe,” she added.

Sainsbury’s has not placed a limit on the number of egg purchases in their stores, however accepted some stores could be “running low on some lines”.

Meanwhile, Tesco said it had “good availability” and was working with producers to “protect supplies”.