At the St. Ewe free-range egg farm packing centre in Truro, Cornwall, egg production from the company’s million plus hens is in full flow. Inside the large industrial warehouse, thousands of eggs roll by on conveyor belts, while staff check them for imperfections and grade them for size, before packing them into boxes and stacking these onto huge pallets to be taken away. 

To an outsider, it is a sight of successful productivity. But in what are turbulent times in the egg industry, the company has just raised consumer prices by roughly five per cent, meaning a six-pack in Tesco, who it supplies, now ranges from £2.50 to £3 depending on the quality of the eggs.

“The egg industry faces huge challenges,” says managing director Martin Glinski. “Transport costs have gone up, plus the running costs of the farm. Things will get worse from April when we will see labour costs rising from hikes to the living wage and national insurance, plus a packaging tax.” 

“We try to mitigate these costs for the consumers as much as possible, but we simply can’t do so any more or our farm is not sustainable,” he adds. “And any technological investments we make are to slightly increase efficiency. They don’t offset the costs we face.”

Glinski’s warning of price rises is not in isolation. The UK is a nation of egg lovers; last year, we consumed 13.6 billion eggs – roughly 200 per person. But according to recent analysis of data from market research company Assosia by The Grocer, the price of eggs in the UK has risen almost 20 per cent since January.

Of 174 egg lines surveyed in Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose, 40 have increased their prices since January. Morrisons saw the biggest jump, with a six pack of Hoads Farm large free range eggs rising 18 per cent from £1.90 to £2.25.