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Egg Shortage Leads to Customer Frustration
Pretoria residents face an egg shortage crisis, with empty grocery store shelves. Prices have skyrocketed to R130 for 30 eggs.
The avian flu outbreak has disrupted chicken supply chains, leading to the culling of millions of laying hens and broiler chickens, the worst outbreak since 2017.
Some supermarkets are rationing eggs, limiting purchases to six per customer.
Woolworths acknowledged supply issues and urged customers to buy smaller quantities.
Customers are taking to social media to locate stores with available stock.
Willie Snyman, an egg vendor, struggles to keep up with demand at Centurion Boeremark. He’s increased orders but still can’t meet demand.
Also read: Government Urged to Address Avian Flu Outbreak Says DA
Snyman explained, “I don’t have a single egg in my shop right now, it’s crazy. Even though prices have risen, people are still buying.”
Suppliers are grappling with backlogs, and new shipments sell out quickly.
The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) collaborates with the agriculture department to vaccinate chickens against avian flu. While the flu hasn’t transferred to humans in South Africa, it’s severely impacted poultry farming.
Sapa general manager Dr Abongile Balarane stated that the outbreak began in the Western Cape and has since spread.
This crisis has resulted in the culling of over 5 million layer chickens, with approximately 8.7 million chickens affected overall.
Source: Customers scramble as egg shortage bites
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Picture: Facebook / The Lazy Makoti
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