LK Steiermark: Not only at Easter - eggs will remain scarce until the end of the year

Smaller offer of Easter eggs in shops – but not at farmers or farmers’ markets

Graz (OTS) – How secure is the supply of eggs? Bird flu, the corona pandemic and inflation have also thrown the egg market off course. “Eggs will remain scarce until the end of the year. There is a shortage of colored Easter eggs in shops in particular, but not at farmers’ markets or directly from the farm. In addition to sufficient colored eggs, there are also enough fresh eggs directly from the farm,” says Vice President Maria Pein. The reasons? Because of the bird flu that is rampant across Europe and the explosion in costs for energy, feed and other inputs, 40 million fewer laying hens are currently being kept in the EU-27. The stables of many large farms in northern Germany and other European countries are therefore empty. And because the pull effect for liquid egg and egg powder production is very strong and the dye works are struggling with high energy costs, the Easter egg supply is lower this year.

Local laying hen keepers got off with a black eye: Our family farms are more crisis-proof. “The local laying hen farmers have so far managed the high price phase with a black eye, but the economic situation of the companies is very tense,” says the Vice President. In the Netherlands, buying eggs in shops is already rationed because of the scarce supply. The Vice-President gave the all-clear: “We don’t expect that. In recent years, domestic laying hen farmers have increased their self-sufficiency to an impressive 92 percent (Statistics Austria). This proves once again that family farms are considerably more crisis-proof than large, capital-intensive farms other EU countries.”

profitability not available. “The extremely high energy and feed costs are extremely difficult for domestic laying hen farmers to cope with, even though they have turned every possible cost screw to keep prices stable for consumers,” says Hans-Peter Schlegl, the new chairman of the Poultry farming in Styria. And further: “Due to the lack of profitability and the high construction costs, there will be no more new investments in the near future and the growth of the industry will be curbed. Buying behavior has also changed: the trend in recent years towards premium products such as Organic and free-range eggs have slowed down, barn eggs are increasingly being used again.

Photovoltaics on chicken pastures: Solar power for the entire industry – an important contribution to secure power supply. The 1,277 hectares of free-range chicken pastures in Styria can ideally be used twice: as poultry pastures and as photovoltaic areas for power generation. “When constructing photovoltaic open-space systems, such dual-use areas should be used instead of valuable arable land. We can thus make an important contribution to secure electricity supply,” suggests Chairman Hans-Peter Schlegl. And further: “With the generation of solar power on part of the approximately 1,227 hectares (Austria: 3,597 hectares) Styrian chicken pastures, the entire required electricity of 119,365 megawatt hours for the laying hen husbandry can be generated by double use.”

Sandra Holasek, nutritionist, MedUni Graz: Egg cholesterol myth cracked by science. New scientific data dispels the notion that eggs are pure cholesterol bombs. Sandra Holasek, nutritionist from the Medical University of Graz: “There is no risk of cardiovascular disease from egg consumption. On the contrary: Eggs are high-quality health-promoting foods.”

Health benefits from the egg. “In addition to fish, the egg is a high-quality source of protein. The body converts the egg protein 1:1 and it is also easy to digest. It is a food with which you are very well supplied with nutrients,” nutritionist Sandra Holasek breaks a lance for the egg. The valuable protein is also good for building muscles and it ensures that muscle strength is maintained as much as possible. The breakfast egg, which is so popular in Austria, is a satiating agent for the whole day. Holasek: “It prevents ravenous hunger attacks, for example and makes a particularly important contribution to healthy nutrition and is ideal as a light diet and diet for the sick.”

I prefer eggs for breakfast. The breakfast egg is the most popular among Austrians: a third of Austrians (33 percent) enjoy a breakfast egg at least once or several times a week. The eggs are mainly bought in supermarkets (38 percent), 28 percent of Austrians state that they (also) buy their eggs directly from the farmer. Looking for Easter eggs and hiding Easter nests is a tradition for 76 percent of Austrians, and for 54 percent, picking eggs at Easter is on the agenda. (Ending)