I shopped at Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury's, M&S, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl to see where I could find the cheapest eggs
20.04.2023 - 18:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
If there's one thing supermarkets sell a lot of, it's eggs.
But you have probably noticed that they've become a lot harder to get hold of recently - and if they are in stock, prices have shot up.
We reported on the shortage last month, when shoppers were reporting finding empty shelves.
Yet it was towards the end of 2022 when the shortages first hit, as producers cut back or left the industry altogether due to the soaring production costs. And the culling of chickens following an outbreak of bird flu has been another contributing factor.
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With figures out this week showing that British households are facing the fastest annual increase in food and drink prices since 1977, with eggs among the products rising the most, I decided to visit each supermarket to see what stock levels are like and where I could find the cheapest eggs.
With so many types of eggs on the market these days - I'm not sure who would spend £3.60 on half a dozen eggs - my aim was to buy the cheapest large pack available, along with a six-pack of large free range eggs.
While there were varying packs available in every store, supplies were running low. And I think a morning shop helped, as each time I've shopped in the evening recently I've been unable to get any.
Some have put signs up warning of the shortage, the most prominent being in Sainsbury's, while Lidl is limiting shoppers to two packs per customer.
The cheapest large packs are generally the mixed weight boxes of 15 eggs from caged hens.
Only two retailers had them in stock - Asda, where its Just Essentials pack is £1.99 and Iceland, where the pack costs £2.20.
Lidl had a pack of 10 large ones for £1.79, while the other