It takes another two months until Easter is, but the eggs are already being paid dearly. American situations are lurking.
The egg prices continue to rise, you have to do your best to find an egg under 30 cents each in the supermarket. What’s going on?
In short: everything at the same time. Bird flu in Europe, bird flu in the United States, Easter approaching – it all drives up the price. And you might not expect it, but even tiles in the US influence egg prices in Europe.
“There is a systematic shortage of eggs worldwide,” says egg expert Peter van Horne of Wageningen University & Research. “Normally you can still go to another country in the event of a shortage in one country, but the market is now totally disturbed, there are shortages everywhere.” If companies are cleared in the US or in Poland, the entire market will notice that, because it sometimes concerns millions of chickens at the same time. Van Horne has never seen such a thing in forty years of egg chain research. Incidentally, it is nowhere such a madhouse as in the US. A box with twelve free -range eggs already costs the customer about eight euros there. Even eggs are stolen.
Do we eat so many eggs at Easter that the price rises?
Apparently. Jumbo sometimes has reported That they sell half more eggs than usual in the week before Easter. The peak in the egg trade is always about two weeks before Easter, because supermarkets buy well in advance. Since January, the price De Boer receives for free -range eggs has risen: from less than 13 euros for 100 pieces to now 15 euros or more. That is less than the retail price, because traders, packers and supermarkets also require their margin. And the prices will probably not fall in the coming weeks.
The egg is also ideal teaching material for economic teachers. A price of eggs is inelastic. “If you find the chicken fillet too expensive, you buy minced meat. But there is no alternative for an egg. ” That makes Van Horne that demand hardly decreases when prices rise. People keep buying eggs. Van Horne would not even look crazy if we look at empty shelves later, the market is so tight.
But sorry. 50 cents for an organic egg? The Easter Bunny goes bankrupt!
Yes, so consumers do not buy fewer eggs, but cheaper. That is in turn unfavorable for organic poultry farmers. Consumers go from Bio to Scharrel. And even the cage eggs are now becoming pricey-although you will only find cage eggs in the Netherlands in cookies, rusks and mayonnaise. For boxes in the supermarket, the free -range egg is now the lower limit.
Are white eggs cheaper than brown?
Traditionally, farmers get a little more money for brown eggs. Brown eggs have a ‘natural’ image in the Netherlands, many consumers want that. But the cost price is also higher: chickens that lay brown eggs need more food. Now that the realization is aware that white eggs are slightly more durable – and no less healthy – the demand for white is growing. That also means that the price difference becomes smaller, says Van Horne. “And if you want to paint eggs at Easter, you probably also choose white.”