Why there will soon be no more white organic eggs

The Swiss population has an appetite for eggs – but just before Easter the domestic eggs become scarce. What are the reasons? And why is it that almost only brown organic eggs can be found?

The hens hardly fulfill eggs. Eggs are currently in demand in Switzerland as they have not been for a long time – not just about Easter. 198 pieces were eaten on average per person in Switzerland last year – be it cooked as fried egg or in a processed form. That is nine eggs more than in the previous year. A remarkable increase, says Daniel Würgler, President of the Egg Producer Association Gallosuisse.

« We can’t deliver enough at the moment, » he says. From one bottleneckbut he doesn’t want to know anything about the retailers. Only the selection in the shops is limited, sometimes you have to fall back on an import egg instead of a native, he appeases. « You have to take what there is – or wait until the next day. »

Meanwhile, there is a real egg crisis in the United States because of a bird flu eruption, there is talk of an « eggflation ». Because of the bird flu, the prices have exploded, Sometimes the purchase is rationed in supermarkets. The Swiss producers were also asked whether they could help out with exports, says Würgler. But that is out of the question for the Swiss industry in view of the tense situation in their own country.