Egg shortage pushes up prices and forces pubs to change their menus

A shortage of eggs caused by an outbreak of bird flu has pushed up prices and forced pubs to change their menus.

JD Wetherspoon has told customers ordering breakfast that they can swap in substitutes such as hash browns, sausages, or onion rings where eggs are not available.

UK poultry farmers have been hit by rising costs and an outbreak of avian flu which has led to thousands of birds being culled and prompted fears about the supply of Christmas turkeys.

Procurement specialist Prestige Purchasing said low stock levels had seen some suppliers raise egg prices between 10% and 40%.

A Wetherspoon spokesperson said: "We can confirm that there are temporary issues with egg supplies at some Wetherspoon pubs, due to the current national shortage of eggs.

"We are experiencing issues in receiving all the supplies we require to satisfy demand in every pub.

"This is not specific to Wetherspoon and other hospitality operators and supermarkets are facing similar issues."

Retailers including Asda and Lidl have started to ration the number of boxes of eggs customers can buy due to supply issues, according to the BBC.

A Prestige Purchasing spokesperson said: "It seems likely at this time that both egg availability and pricing will remain volatile, as production costs such as energy and feed remain high, and egg laying bird populations are likely to remain low."

Wholesaler Brakes said there had been an "additional strain" on the UK supply chain, but it was working with egg suppliers to minimise the impact on customers.

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