Stuart Read, marketing manager for Prestige Purchasing, said: “If the current cost of animal feed continues, we can certainly expect to see a rise in egg prices, sooner rather than later.
“This summer’s extreme hot weather has caused issues with all grain, particularly wheat, which has recently shot up in price. This will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect well into the winter months.”
Free-range egg producers have already called for an immediate price increase as dry weather has caused poor crop yields across Europe’s major wheat-growing countries and the knock-on effect has egg-producers reporting a 50 per cent increase in feed costs.
With many producers paying about £270 per tonne of feed, a medium-sized business is facing feed bills that are £40,000 more per flock than at the start of the year.
Read said that many farmers had already used large amounts of their winter feed to keep their animals healthy over the summer, which would further increase the pressure on grain supply.
“Caterers will undoubtedly have decisions to make on their sourcing in the coming months, and eggs will certainly be one of the areas that will need addressing,” Read added.
“However larger concerns around the overall effects of both an extremely dry summer and the impending impacts of Brexit will mean that purchasers will need to think carefully when considering their supply chain.”