FIRST came the signs: “10 cartons per customer only”, followed by “one carton per customer”, then “eggs sold out”. And it wasn’t long before the price increases came – and the realisation that this is a serious situation indeed.
Avian flu, or bird flu as it’s commonly referred to, has hit SA’s chicken and egg supply hard and consumers have been battling to buy the food that’s a staple in many homes.
About 7,5 million chickens bred for meat and egg laying have been culled since the disease broke out in April – that’s nearly a third of South Africa’s total chicken stock, says Izaak Breitenbach, general manager of the SA Poultry
