Farmers say importation of German eggs is 'deeply troubling' as Lidl confirms 'temporary' sourcing
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Irish Farmers' Association poultry chairman Nigel Sweetnam has criticised Lidl Ireland for importing German eggs, saying that is "deeply troubling".
“Lidl and all retailers have to engage in constructive dialogue to develop a fair, sustainable plan that supports local egg producers and ensures the survival and growth of the sector," Mr Sweetnam said.
“Producers need more of the margin on eggs to reinvest in their businesses."
Mr Sweetnam said egg producers are "totally opposed" to the importation of German eggs.
“Should Lidl proceed without addressing our demands, we will be forced to take further action to protect our industry and livelihoods,” he said.
A Lidl spokesperson told the that Ireland is "currently experiencing an egg supply shortage as high levels of consumer demand coincide with lower levels of production as a result of the sector transitioning from cage to barn egg production".
"In order to ensure there is a limited impact on our customers, Lidl Ireland will temporarily source a small number of barn eggs from a quality certified German supplier for a limited time until such time as our Irish suppliers can fulfil our customer demand," the spokesperson said.
"This will ensure our customers can continue to enjoy eggs as part of their diet while relieving pressure on Irish egg producers as they increase production levels over the coming months."
Lidl said it is "committed to supporting Irish egg producers" as they transition from cage to barn egg production, and will "continue to proactively purchase barn eggs from all Bord Bia-approved Irish suppliers".
"Ultimately, Lidl’s goal is to transition back to 100% Irish eggs as soon as is possible. In 2023, Lidl Ireland procured €1.1bn from the Irish agri-food industry, exporting over €300m worth of Irish produce across Lidl’s international network of stores," the spokesperson added.
Egg farmers require "long-term commitments to encourage growth and investment" in the sector, the IFA has stressed.
Brendan Soden, vice-chairman of the association's poultry committee, has welcomed the recent review of the egg sector by the Agri-Food Regulator.
He emphasised that "long-term contracts at a fair price are crucial" for the sector's sustainability.
“Farmers are seeking a sustainable price to allow for reinvestment and to be included in future planning and contract arrangements," Mr Soden said.
The Agri-Food Regulator in recent days gave an update on its efforts to publish analysis of information about price and market data in relation to the egg sector supply chain.
The regulator noted that it had started engagement with relevant businesses early this year, with a specific data request issuing on April 30, following a consultation period that was initiated on March 12.
Niamh Lenehan, CEO of the regulator, said: “I wish to thank those businesses who have actively engaged thus far and have led the way in providing data to the regulator for the purpose of improving transparency.
"While I acknowledge and welcome the engagement that has occurred from all businesses from whom the regulator requested data, unfortunately, not all retail businesses have yet provided the data requested.
"As a result, it has not been possible for the regulator to produce the type of report that was envisaged at the beginning of this process.
"The regulator will continue to engage with the businesses involved in the egg sector in the coming weeks and, particularly with those which have not provided the requested data, with a view to supplementing the report published as soon as possible.
"The board will be updated on this work at its next meeting in early September. Depending on progress, the board will consider next steps.”
The report outlines the changes and trends in the sector's input prices and output prices.
Relative to the changes in farm-gate and wholesale prices, it can be seen in the report that from 2019 to 2023, consumer prices for eggs show the lowest year-over-year changes.
Consumers were the least likely in the supply chain to face sharp increases, the report states.
"We see a steady rise in poultry feed up to December 2021, until a sharp increase of 25% in five months, relative to 2021 levels," the report says, using CSO data.
"That sharp increase is repeated three times in the electricity index, from June 2021 to March 2022, from March 2022 to September 2022 and from September 2022 to December 2022.
"While the agricultural output index has also seen a considerable rise, increasing 40% on 2021 levels, it hasn’t seen those short bursts in prices as compared to the input indices.
"Prices paid by consumers for eggs remained relatively flat until February 2022 before increasing 25% to January 2024."
Meanwhile, along with publishing the report on the egg sector, the Agri-Food Regulator also gave an update on its monitoring and enforcement activities in relation to the Unfair Trading Regulations.
The regulator confirmed that legal proceedings have been issued against a business in the agri-food supply chain in relation to an alleged breach of an unfair trading practice.
"The regulator encourages any supplier of agri-food products who feels that they may have been or are subject to an unfair trading practice to contact them," the update said.
"The regulator has also, for the first time, carried out a number of on-site compliance inspections using legislative powers available under the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023.
"These inspections seek to ensure that the policies and procedures, systems, internal control mechanisms and arrangements relating to unfair trading practices, and any mechanisms to address deficiencies, in a business are in compliance with the 2023 act and associated regulations."
The regulator confirmed that these inspections, as well as targeted risk-based inspections, will continue to be undertaken as envisaged in the strategy statement and the associated work programme for 2024.
