Estonia and Finland facing an acute shortage of eggs

Eggs completely disappeared from grocery shelves in many regions of Estonia and Finland last month, with the shortage being affiliated to the new rules of production adopted in the EU since the beginning of this year.

The new regulations stipulate that each laying hen shall be given no less than 750 square centimeters of personal space. In addition, the cell must be equipped with sleeping, drinking and nest made of natural materials. Many farms have not been able to make the necessary investments to improve the production process, and therefore were forced to leave the market.

Eggs obtained from laying hens kept in small cages can now only be sold for industrial processing, and their entry into retail and export is now banned. As a result, the production has fallen sharply almost by 15-20% and also the volume of import dramatically decreased.

The lack of eggs in the Estonian market is about 15% of total volume, forcing the price of eggs to rise by 50%. Some Estonian supermarkets have also imposed restrictions on the sale of chicken eggs.