Britain’s egg sector is at risk, the British Egg Industry Council has warned, if the Government presses ahead with proposals to ban all forms of caged egg production.
The consultation, which covers enriched colony cages as well as pullet rearing and breeder cages, has prompted a stark warning that the long-term future of the UK egg industry is at risk if the policy goes ahead without safeguards.
A unilateral ban in the UK would inevitably open the door to a sharp rise in imported eggs and egg products produced in cages overseas, BEIC said. That could include eggs from hens kept in barren battery cages – a system outlawed in the UK more than a decade ago.
Industry representatives warn that such imports would not be limited to shell eggs. Processed products containing eggs, including foods such as quiche, could also enter the UK market from production systems that would be illegal for British farmers to use. They argue this would distort competition and destabilise prices across the board, affecting producers in all systems, not just those currently using enriched colony cages.
The concern is that British egg businesses could be undercut by cheaper imports produced to lower welfare standards, fundamentally and permanently damaging the domestic industry.
Producers maintain that if the Government decides to proceed with banning specific production systems at home, it must also apply the same standards to imports. “If it’s illegal to produce here, it should be illegal to import,” is the central message being put to policymakers.
With the consultation deadline fast approaching, the call from industry bodies is for a united response. The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) is urging farmers and others across the supply chain to make their voices heard before 9 March 2026.