Lidl shoppers have been hit with a limit on how many boxes of eggs they can purchase when they are at the supermarket following reports of a shortage.
The budget supermarket chain has implemented notices in stores to alert customers. It is rationing eggs to three boxes per person. Aldi shoppers have noticed a shortage on eggs on its Click and Collect service, reports The Manchester Evening News.
It comes as multiple retailers and supermarkets across the country have been hit with a shortage as a knock-on effect following the current Avian flu epidemic and the summer heatwave.
While it's not clear how many stores have been affected, some Lidl shoppers took to social media to enquire about the bare shelves where eggs should be, while another shared a snap of the ration notice they spotted in store.
Grocery Insight CEO Steve Dresser shared the snap with the sign that read: "Eggs are limited to three units per customer to ensure that everyone has the essentials they need."
And they are not the only supermarket to experience a shortage, as shoppers have also spotted similar notices at the likes of Sainsbury's and Tesco.
One Tesco customer shared a notice that read: "Due to the hot summer we are currently experiencing low availability across our egg range. Sorry for any inconvenience."
Sainsbury's shoppers also spotted a notice that read: "We are currently experiencing supply issues across our fresh egg range. We are working hard to resolve these and apologise for any inconvenience caused."
Aldi shoppers also took to Twitter to ask the supermarket if they had stopped selling eggs, as they had noticed they couldn't find a lot in store.
"Have you stopped selling fresh eggs online because of bird flu? I could not add any to my click and collect order. I will have to buy them from somewhere else now separately", asked one customer on Twitter.
"I shan't be shopping at your Great Barr store any more. A lot of the shelves were bear [sic]. No eggs again", tweeted a second.
British Retail Consortium's Director of Food and Sustainability, Andrew Opie, has said that retailers are "working hard" to "minimise" the impact on customers."
He added: "While avian flu has disrupted the supply of some egg ranges, retailers are experts at managing supply chains."
News of the shortages at the supermarkets comes just after British pub chain Wetherspoons had to remove eggs from its breakfast menu after it was hit with "supply chain issues."
Diners will now be offered temporary alternatives at affected branches, including breakfast staples such as hash browns, onion rings or sausages.
Why is there a shortage of eggs?
Farmers are being hit by a mixture of rising prices and an outbreak of bird flu.
The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) told the BBC farmers were being squeezed by the price of chicken feed - which has spiked due to the Ukraine war - and sky-high energy costs. Its members claim they've only received between 5p and 10p more despite the price of a dozen eggs rising by about 45p in the supermarkets since March.
"Feeding hens is now at least 50% more expensive than it was, and energy prices have soared in the same way that consumers have seen their domestic bills rise," the BFREPA said in a statement. Spending on fuel has grown by 30%, while labour and packaging also costs more."
A recent survey of 163 farmers affiliated with the BFREPA show 33% have already reduced or stopped their egg production. Farmers are also suffering following the biggest ever outbreak of Avian Influenza, which has resulted in millions of birds being culled or killed.
There has also been a knock-on effect of birds dying during the heatwave this summer. However, the Department Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has denied there are any supply chain issues.
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