Tesco pledges additional financial support to UK egg industry

Despite being first announced this month (August 2023), the funding has been spread between April this year and March 2024.

A total of £6m is set to be distributed among suppliers between now and March of next year. The move comes after Tesco invested £27.5m in the egg industry across 2022 and 2023.

The financial support committed by Tesco will be used to cover handling and processing costs facing suppliers, while also supporting farmers with rising feed prices. The supermarket said it is working to ensure that the money reaches farmers as soon as possible.

“We’re really pleased to be able to provide a further package of financial support to our UK egg suppliers and producers,” ​said Tesco commercial director for fresh, Dominic Morrey.

“The sector has faced some very tough conditions over the past 18 months, including increases to inputs such as feed and energy, as well as the avian flu outbreak, so we hope this support alleviates some of these challenges​.”

Tesco ends purchase restrictions

Alongside the announcement of new financial support, Tesco said it is lifting buying restrictions on shell eggs in its stores.

First introduced in November 2022, the retailer limited shoppers to three packs of eggs at once due to supply concerns. These shortages were the result of an avian flu outbreak and rising input costs.

“As conditions begin to ease, we’re also able to remove the buying restrictions we’ve had in place on shell eggs since November last year​,” Morrey added.

“Customers can be reassured we also remain 100% British on all our shell eggs, with our five-year contracts with our suppliers now well underway.”​

The retailer currently stocks 100% British eggs across its stores and aims to offer only cage free eggs by 2025.

In other news, Tesco has rolled out new ‘pillow packs’ on a limited number of lines to ensure that products stay in better condition​​.