As of 1st January 2010 German supermarkets cannot sell eggs from hens in battery cages anymore. Since the country does not have enough free range farms to supply the supermarkets, the Germans chains are buying these eggs in the Netherlands.
German buyers are willing to pay more for the eggs, so the Dutch poultry farmers quickly changed their outlet for eggs to their neighbours in the east.
As a result Dutch supermarkets, which only sell free range eggs, face empty shelves for the time being. “The eggs are there”, meaning in the egg market a spokesman of a large supermarket chain said, “it is just a matter of finding them.”
Packing stations expect that the situation will return to normal somewhere in mid January. Until then consumers might have to go to different outlets to buy eggs; or just buy them at the producer.
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