Egg price drops 40% amid supermarket price war

The British Heart Foundation recently said the fact that eggs are bad for your heart is a “myth”

The retail price for a pack of six free range eggs has fallen from £1.40 two years ago to 79p (Getty Images)

The price of eggs has almost halved in the last two years at the same time as UK consumer’s appetite for it has increased, stretching egg farmers to the limit

The retail price for a pack of six free range eggs has fallen from £1.40 two years ago to 79p, a decrease of around 40 per cent.

Six own-brand medium-sized free range eggs now cost just 85p in Asda and 89p at Tesco, compared to £1.48 in 2012.

Supermarkets have cut their prices in a competition war with discounters such as Aldi and Lidl at the same time as demand for eggs is higher than ever, Duncan Priestner, egg producer and chair of the National Farmers Unions told the BBC.

For the last 20 years, nutrition and medical research has shown repeatedly that at a normal level of dietary cholesterol has very little influence on a person’s blood cholesterol levels. Eggs are now branded as an excellent source of protein, healthy fats, and several vitamins and minerals.

The British Heart Foundation also said the fact that eggs are bad for your heart is a “myth” and they can form part of a balanced diet.

This means volumes and demand for eggs have grown at an unprecedented rate with UK consumers now eating 12.2 billion eggs, according to the latest statistic by the British Egg Council.

If the price cut might be good news for consumers, there is a downside to it.

Cheaper eggs in the supermarket are encouraging intensification of caged production.

While producers of free range eggs, currently the most popular choice with consumers, might be pushed to their limit.

“There’s been strong competition between the main retailers and the discount stores, and that has led to aggressive pricing which in turn has led to price cuts to producers,” Peter Gooch, director of policy with the British Free Range Egg producers Association told The Telegraph.

“My members have faced price cuts of up to 8p on a dozen eggs in the past two months alone. Obviously that’s of great benefit for consumers but a sad story for farmers. Already smaller producers are going out of business, as only larger farms are able to accommodate the reduced prices,” Gooch added.

But Gary Ford, chief poultry adviser at the National Farming Union told the Independent that cost of feed is more important than retail price to farmers.

“High demand has helped farmers to keep their margins higher and stimulate consumption,” Ford said.