Sainsbury’s, which has come under fire for importing Italian barn eggs in recent weeks, has announced it has agreed to pay an extra 20% to its British egg suppliers, in addition to a 20% increase per dozen it introduced in June.
The retailer has filled gaps on shelves in recent weeks by importing eggs, against its own British sourcing policy. Shortages have become evident in the past few weeks as a result of British egg producers opting to scale back production or leave the industry altogether as a result of rapid inflation on poultry feed and energy prices. Many producers are making a loss of up to 30p per dozen, according to the British Free Range Producers Association (BFREPA).
Richard Crampton, Director of Fresh Food at Sainsbury’s, said: “We have always believed in close collaboration with our farmers and in paying them fairly and, as inflationary pressures rise, we continue to do everything we can to help all our suppliers and communities.
“We understand that farmers who supply our own-brand egg packers are facing significant challenges and it is clear that this is impacting the number of eggs they are able to produce. To support them we have increased the amount we pay our packers for eggs over the past 12 months, while at the same time remaining focused on keeping prices low for customers. In response to high levels of inflation in June we accelerated our support, making a meaningful 20% increase in the amount we pay for eggs and last week we further doubled this investment, paying an additional 20%. This brings the total we have increased pay by over the past 12 months to around 40%.
“While we do not buy eggs from farmers directly, we are working very closely with our own-brand packers to ensure farmers are fully supported with this investment. I firmly believe that right now prioritising financial support to our farmers is the right thing to do. It will ensure they have the confidence and resources to be able to invest in ensuring supply for customers both now and in the future.”