Overview
- Supermarket shelves are intermittently empty, with Aldi Nord lifting prices for ten barn-laid eggs to €2.49 (about 25% higher) and colored eggs up by €0.50.
- Trade groups cite avian influenza, tighter biosecurity rules, and barn renovations linked to the phase-out of small-group housing as key constraints on output.
- Seasonal herd turnover, thin industrial stocks, cold weather and holiday market closures shifted demand to supermarkets and strained collection, sorting and delivery schedules.
- Germany produces under 70% of its egg needs and typically sources about 28% from the Netherlands, where lower output has reduced imports and tightened supply.
- Industry leaders call the disruption temporary, though a discounter procurement executive told Lebensmittelzeitung that full normalization could take up to four months, with Easter demand already adding pressure.