Tuesday 15 November 2022 12:59 PM Farmer slams supermarkets over egg shortages trends now Supermarkets have today been accused of fuelling the chaos plaguing Britain's egg supply chain by refusing to pay farmers a 'fair price' to produce them. Instagram-famous Welsh egg farmer Ioan Humphreys angrily tore into supermarkets in a series of videos as he blamed them for much of the disruption in the sector and choosing to import eggs from Italy instead of pay British farmers more. Stark photos of empty shelves in supermarkets across the UK including Tesco, Lidl and Aldi lay bare the scale of the chaos engulfing the industry, as millions of birds are culled or placed under house-arrest in a bid to halt the spread of the country's worst ever bird flu outbreak. Asda and Sainsbury's have now introduced rationing in an apparent attempt to quell the risk of panic-buying amid fears the supply could run out by Christmas. Have YOU noticed a shortage of eggs in shops or restaurant menus? Email jack.wright@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement The chaos has also impacted Britain's restaurants, with Wetherspoons providing breakfast substitutes amid egg shortages, while a popular bakery in Norwich which relies on eggs warned that the supply chain disruption has been 'disastrous'. Though he admitted that the spread of avian flu had exacerbated the situation, Mr Humphreys said much of the disruption was being caused by the failure of supermarkets to pay more for eggs from British farmers experiencing a significant rise in the cost of production - from surging energy bills to increases in the cost of feed - caused by factors including the Ukraine War. Speaking to MailOnline, the outspoken farmer added: 'It's not because we as farmers don't want to produce eggs, it's because we can't afford to produce eggs. All we want is a fair price to cover our costs and continue producing British eggs.' Kaysie Davidson, who runs The Baking Addict out of Old Catton, told local media: 'I'm finding that in order to keep my prices the same I'm having to use cheaper ingredients which luckily hasn't changed the taste. Everything is getting so expensive.' And Steve Magnall, co-owner of Two Magpies Bakery in Timberhill, added: 'Energy is our biggest rising cost - it will cost us more than £200,000 this year. Dairy has now almost doubled and on top of that flour has gone up by 25%. ... This year we are looking at being completely wiped out and might breakeven at best. We can't pass the costs on to the consumers all the time.' The British Free Range Egg Producers Association said: 'We warned ten months ago that producers would pause or halt production if they weren't paid a fair price for their product, and that the knock-on effect would be fewer hens and fewer eggs.' The British Egg Industry Council said it is not aware of any shortages but added it can 'fluctuate in terms of supply and demand and availability is fairly tight at the present time'. ALDI: Some shelves in the egg section of the Aldi in North Shields, North Tyneside appear empty today TESCO: Shelves in the egg aisle of a Tesco also in North Shields also appear emptier than typical today LIDL: Empty shelves of eggs in a Lidl supermarket in Sheffield today Welsh egg farmer Ioan Humphreys angrily tore into supermarkets in a series of videos shared on social media as he blamed them for much of the disruption in the sector Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: 'Retailers have long-standing, established relationships with their suppliers and know how important maintaining these are for their customers and businesses. Supermarkets source the vast majority of their food from the UK and know they need to pay a sustainable price to egg farmers but are constrained by how much additional cost they can pass onto consumers during a cost-of-living crisis'. He added: 'While avian flu has disrupted the supply of some egg ranges, retailers are experts at managing supply chains and are working hard to minimise impact on customers. 'Some stores have introduced temporary limits on the number of boxes customers can buy to ensure availability for everyone.' Food and farming ministry Defra said that there was no 'immediate threat' to the food supply chain, including eggs. MailOnline has contacted Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons, Iceland, Waitrose and the Co-op for further comment. Asda admitted that it has been affected by the disruption, while even John Lewis-owned Waitrose - which said it has good availability of eggs - is monitoring the situation. Signs have also been spotted in branches of Sainsbury's in Wales and Lidl in Wokingham urging customers not to buy large numbers of cartons for fear of fuelling further chaos. YESTERDAY: Emptying egg shelves at a Sainsbury's in a photo shared on Twitter YESTERDAY: A sign urging people to ration eggs in a Lidl in Wokingham to prevent the store's supply running out LAST WEEK: The shortage of eggs in Sainsbury's in Dorking, Surrey LAST WEEK: 'We are currently experiencing supply issues across our fresh eggs range,' a note told customers at Sainsbury's in Dorking Shoppers at an Asda store in Cardiff are being told that the sale of eggs is now restricted to only two per customer, with one woman taking a photo of a notice at her nearby Coryton branch explaining the rationing was due to 'low availability'. Earlier this year, Asda rationed purchases of its budget lines after items sold out, while shortages of fresh produce linked to poor weather in Europe have also caused shortages. During the pandemic, supermarkets rationed eggs and flour. Helen Watts, from a wholesale supplier Freshfields Farm Eggs in Cheshire, said avian flu had 'affected supplies as a lot of birds have had to be culled' and the situation had been getting 'gradually worse'. Charles Mears, who farms at Waresley, Cambridgeshire, said: 'We've been warning people for a long time, but people have been expecting cheap food, which just isn't sustainable. 'If the Government does not intervene to support farmers, there will be no eggs by Christmas.' The shortages come against a background of soaring food inflation, which hit 14.6% in the 12 months to the end of September. Have YOU noticed an egg shortage in shops or restaurants? Email jack.wright@mailonline.co.uk All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility