Your article (Why are eggs so expensive? Here’s what a farmer and 14,000 hens told me, 18 May) wrongly includes Waitrose in a list of supermarkets that don’t pay egg farmers a price that reflects their costs. We most certainly do. The cost of feed is the biggest element of volatility in farmers’ costs and we update our farm-gate egg price each quarter to reflect this.
Over the last year feed prices have risen so rapidly that we’ve increased the price we pay even more frequently to make sure farmers are being paid fairly.
It’s no coincidence that our farmers have confidence to keep farming and we’ve had no interruptions to our supply.
The fact that our competitors have had shortages and resorted to foreign imports is a sure sign that the hens have come home to roost. We aren’t cocky – but when it comes to supporting farmers we do like to think we are high up the pecking order.
Jake Pickering
Senior agriculture manager, Waitrose
• The obvious lesson from your article is surely don’t buy your eggs from a supermarket. Indeed, don’t buy anything from a supermarket; their policies are unsustainable, economically and ethically. We should not use them, but instead support our nearest independent trader in eggs direct from the farm. Until more of us make this change in mindset, our homegrown supply of food will continue to be put at risk by the greed of the supermarkets.
Mark Doel
Sheffield
• Why did eggs get so expensive? Simple. Two years ago, two sacks of feed (layers pellets, mixed corn) cost £20; today they cost at least £35. I suspect the increase is the same whether you keep a dozen birds or a thousand.
Wal Callaby
Whatfield, Suffolk
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