Eggs are disappearing from supermarket shelves in South Africa. The fault lies in an unprecedented avian flu epidemic in chicken farms. More than 5 million laying hens have been culled to prevent the spread of the virus. Vaccination does not exist in South Africa. Neighboring Namibia has suspended the importation of South African poultry to protect itself. In the land of eggs and bacon, South Africans will have to change their breakfast. Consumers are desperate.
1 min
With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Roman Song
In a few minutes, the last egg cartons available in this supermarket should disappear. There is no longer much choice and prices have exploded, laments Arlene. “ It’s very hard to find them and now the prices have almost doubled. »
The store apologizes and informs its customers that the purchase is limited to two boxes. Count 1 euro and 15 cents, for 6 eggs. Doubtful, Lebo prefers to move on. “ The prices are indecent. We are not used to this. »
It’s even worse in a SPAR supermarket where the shelves have been empty for a few days. The chain is considering importing eggs from neighboring countries to deal with dissatisfaction from complaining customers. “ A lot… that’s what worries us the most. »
Bryan Tshuma is the store manager. “ They eat a lot of eggs every day, like for breakfast. They should expect a hard blow at the bakery level, starting next week. We cannot offer them products cooked with eggs when we don’t have any. This is very bad for our business. »
After eggs, poultry meat could soon become scarce. More than 2 million breeding hens were slaughtered.