Bird flu causes bottlenecks in egg supply

Due to the bird flu, the eggs are also scarce in German trade

19/11/2014

As a result of the outbreak of avian influenza in the Netherlands, discounters in Germany are also expecting bottlenecks in the provision of eggs. According to media reports, for example, "Aldi Süd assumes that delivery bottlenecks can occur for all poultry products from the Netherlands due to the ban on transport." Aldi Süd has therefore already "negotiated with producers in other countries to ensure the supply of over 1,800 branches in southern and western Germany," said the news agency „dpa“.

Following the outbreak of bird flu in the Netherlands, the national authorities prohibited the transport of any poultry products, including eggs, for three days. The delivery lock hits the German market particularly hard, as the information agency „Reuters“ three quarters of Dutch egg production is exported to Germany. However, other countries are likely to feel the consequences of the delivery lock, because according to the news agency, the Netherlands is one of the largest egg producers in the world. Overall, the egg production is six billion pieces per year.

Threatening bird flu infections in humans?
The avian flu broke out according to the message from „Reuters“ in a laying hen farm in the Dutch Hekendorp east of Rotterdam. In the farm all 150,000 animals were killed and disposed of. Furthermore, 16 poultry farms within a radius of ten kilometers of the affected farm were also examined and placed under a 30-day quarantine. The current bird flu outbreak is annoying for the trade, but it carries much more serious risks. Because the highly contagious disease is not only dangerous for birds, but it can be transmitted from animals to humans, reports the news agency „Reuters“ citing a communication from the Dutch government on Sunday. The feared supply bottlenecks at Aldi Süd are therefore only a small part of the impending difficulties. (Fp)