West Dorset MP Chris Loder has urged the Government act on the behaviour of large supermarkets whose exploitation of the UK farming industry has left supply chains depleted, inflexible and fragile in the face of mounting costs during a debate in Parliament last week.
Chris claimed in a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 23rd November on the future of British farming that the UK egg industry faces a ‘ticking time bomb’ as investor confidence in the industry reaches an all time low. With such little profitability, investments in infrastructure have slowed and the numbers of chicks bought to replenish older laying hens has also reduced.
These factors have significantly contributed to a 13% drop in UK egg production. Sainsburys have recently been identified as importing barn reared eggs from Italy in spite of a locally sourced food policy and numerous other supermarkets have limited the number of eggs which can be purchased by the consumer to ease the supply shortages. The British Retail Consortium has claimed that these issues are as a result of the avian influenza outbreak which has already resulted in a compulsory housing order meaning all poultry have to legally remain indoors under strict security measures.
Chris said; ‘it is a clear indicator that the groceries code adjudicator is failing to do its job’. The MP expressed his view that the cause of the current crisis, while exacerbated by Avian Flu, is rooted mainly in the squeezing of farmers’ incomes by supermarkets who are failing to pass on the rising prices of their products to the farmer, who is also beset by rising input costs. Supermarkets have raised the price of a dozen eggs by more than 50p on average since the beginning of the year, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association. But farmers have received a price boost of just 18p.
The recent criticism echoes a warning from Mr Loder last year of such a situation arising where supermarket tight control of the markets eliminate resilience of the supply chains, making them more vulnerable to sudden shortages and a supply chain collapse.
