Why are eggs unavailable in supermarkets today?

SHOPPERS may struggle to find eggs in supermarkets today after major chains introduced rationing.

Asda has already joined Lidl in placing a limit on how many of the products customers can buy.

Plus other supermarkets, including Sainsbury's and Tesco, have issued warnings about shortages.

It comes after three senior supermarket sources told The Sun there had been urgent talks across the industry about how to cope with an impending egg crisis.

But what has caused the issue? Below, we reveal why.

Why are eggs currently unavailable in stores?

The shortage of eggs has been partly caused by another outbreak of avian flu but also a delayed knock-on impact from millions of birds dying during this summer’s heatwave.

In August, the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs said it was "deeply concerned" about the number of chicken mortalities in industrial chicken sheds.

This summer was the hottest on record with temperatures passing 40 degrees centigrade or 104 Fahrenheit.

But the problems have been made worse by a number of farmers leaving the industry as rising costs make it harder to turn a profit.

A huge jump in animal feed costs, caused by the war in Ukraine, has sent grain prices soaring.

Ioan Humphreys, an egg farmer in Wales, blamed supermarkets for not paying egg farmers enough.

"The price of new birds has gone up but our price of eggs has stayed the same," he said in a social media video.

"We physically can’t afford to produce these eggs."

Which supermarkets are impacted?

Asda has confirmed to The Sun that shoppers can only purchase two packs of eggs each at all of its 630 stores across the country.

Lidl is rationing eggs in some stores while it navigates supply issues.

Plus, Aldi customers have experienced shortages in some of the retailer's supermarkets.

Meanwhile, Tesco and Sainsbury's have warned customers they are having supply issues but have stopped short of saying they'll introduce limits.

Co-op, Waitrose and Morrisons told The Sun they weren't experiencing any issues and didn't plan to bring in rationing as of yet.