UK egg crisis shows food supply problems that won’t go away

In Britain, the humble egg has been the victim of a slew of disruptions that have emptied shelves in some stores.

Supermarkets are rationing sales, bakers are considering alternatives, and farmers are demanding government action. In addition to the immediate impact, the crisis more broadly shows how easy it is to disrupt the structure of food markets.

For consumers, this means that simple assumptions should not be taken for granted. Right now, eggs are easily available for breakfast. This could be another staple next week or next month.

“What is now emerging in the egg market could equally well be applied to the fruit market, the grain market or the meat market,” said Tim Lang, emeritus professor of food policy in the City of London. “It doesn’t take much to push a particular sector to the limit. And I think that’s what we see.”

Egg anxiety is hardly a British phenomenon. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a sharp rise in prices for grain, fertilizer and energy, the main agricultural resources.

Higher chicken feed costs have reduced farmers’ profits. And on top of that, the bird flu outbreak is wreaking havoc across the US and Europe, causing mass culling of poultry. Egg prices topped the list of food prices in the US last month, while in Hungary the government is limiting prices.

But it is in the United Kingdom that some supermarket shelves are empty and consumers are worried about stocks ahead of Christmas.

In the UK, food prices have been relatively low for years thanks to cutthroat competition among supermarkets. But the system is cracking under the pressure of inflation, exposing the fragile relationship between retailers and their suppliers. For Lang, author of Feeding Britain, this is a perfect illustration of just-in-time supply chain problems.