Tesco pays higher price for eggs

There is has been a massive increase in the demand for cereals on the international market. This, in turn, is having a heavy impact on the price of animal feed. In fact, the latest figures from the NFU show that the price of feed has risen by 25% over the last year. Cost pressures for poultry farmers are set to increase even further.

The increase in animal feed prices has resulted in higher production costs for producers, and hence a higher price is asked for the product. This means that, at present, free-range poultry producers pay £160/tonne compared with £127/tonne this time last year.

“The days of cheap food are rapidly coming to an end everywhere,” says NFU president Peter Kendall. “Tesco’s initiative on eggs is exactly what we would expect from a responsible retailer and we expect others now to follow their lead.”

NFU poultry board chairman Charles Bourns added: “This increase by Tesco is welcome. The cost of production is going up for poultry producers everywhere and this sends out the right signals.”