By Nick Allen, chief executive, British Egg Industry Council
With 2025 firmly behind us, we can now look forward to 2026 and the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Just before Christmas the UK Government published its Animal Welfare Strategy, that most notably made a commitment to working with the laying hen sector to move towards cage-free systems for all laying hens. This statement was not supported by an equal commitment to ban imports from enriched colony systems, which is very concerning. The Government’s objective would appear to be ban the production of eggs from enriched colony systems in the UK, however, the demand from consumers will continue to exist and therefore we will more than likely see an increase in the volume of imports from caged systems abroad that typically operate to significantly lower standards of animal welfare than any of our current production systems in the UK.
Eggs laid by hens kept in barren battery cages have been banned in the UK since 2012, yet the Government’s trade strategy continues to allow them to be imported. This has led to millions of battery cage eggs entering the UK market every year, increasingly so from countries such as Ukraine. For a ban on enriched colony systems to be effective the Government must prohibit imports from those systems of production – if it’s illegal to produce it must be illegal to import, anything less is a betrayal of British farmers and UK consumers.
Consumers make informed purchasing decisions when it comes to buying eggs. Systems of production are clearly labelled on all shell eggs. The real transparency gap lies in egg products and the food service sector where the country of origin and the production system are often hidden from view. Our research shows that consumers already feel mislead when imported egg products appear in foods such as quiches, sandwiches or mayonnaise. The strength of public feeling on this can be seen through the petition calling on supermarkets to use British eggs for food s made in Britain and stop importing eggs, which has over 50,000 signatures. This proposal will only serve to exacerbate the problem.
Eggs are an affordable, highly nutritious, and natural food, delivering considerable health benefits to consumers, and we do not believe that Government policy should risk limiting public access to them.
Turning to some positive news from the Government, delivered just before Christmas, The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) welcomes the UK Government’s decision to increase the inheritance tax thresholds for farmers and rural businesses, recognising this as an important step towards safeguarding the long-term viability of family-run agricultural enterprises. This move, which raises the level at which 100 % Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR) applies from £1 million to £2.5 million — effectively allowing couples to pass on up to £5 million in qualifying assets tax-free — reflects months of constructive dialogue and campaigning from across the farming sector. Organisations such as the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) have described the change as a “huge relief to many”, acknowledging that it significantly reduces the tax burden on family farms and brings greater certainty to succession planning after a period of considerable concern within the industry. The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and other rural stakeholders have also welcomed the adjustment as a pragmatic response to the very real challenges facing farm businesses in today’s economic climate, while emphasising the need for ongoing engagement to ensure that rural food producers can continue to contribute to UK food security and sustainable countryside economies.
The BEIC also welcomes the UK Government’s confirmation that it will explore extending permitted development rights (PDR) for agricultural and rural uses, as recommended in the Farming Profitability Review led by Baroness Batters and reflected in wider policy discussions on farming viability. These recommendations were identified in the Yes in my Farmyard policy proposal that BEIC contributed to. The YIMFY policy proposal formed the basis of the BEIC’s response to planning reform as part of the Farming Profitability Review.
This commitment including a forthcoming consultation on updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that could streamline planning requirements for farm buildings, diversification projects and infrastructure that has been broadly supported by farming organisations such as the NFU, which has highlighted that such reforms would reduce red tape and support investment in modern facilities and animal welfare improvements.
By reducing planning barriers and providing greater certainty for necessary farm development, we believe these reforms can help egg producers respond to changing market demands and drive sustainable growth across the supply chain.
We look forward to responding to the Government’s consultation on the NPPF in due course.