Irish egg producers are currently receiving “20 cents per dozen behind the EU average”, according to Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) poultry chair Brendan Soden. Even existing poultry farmers are retiring or diversifying and moving away from egg production because the returns and security are not there. “At the minute, the premium between barn and free range eggs is only around 4c per dozen,” Mr Soden said. Irish producers do not have these contracts and are “completely exposed on that front”. The IFA poultry chair said they would be seeking long-term contracts between retailers and the wholesalers the Irish farmers supply, to offer producers security going forward.

Source: Irish Examiner April 01, 2026 12:47 UTC