INCREASED numbers of free range egg producers up and down the country are sparking fears that the market will be pushed into an oversupply situation reducing ex-farm prices.

New figures from Defra show that supplies of free range eggs have surged by almost 11% over the past year, with the number passing through UK packing stations in the first quarter of the year amounting to 3.9m cases. This is up by 10.93% on the first three months of 2017 and up by almost 6% on the last quarter of the year.

Robert Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) said he has worried about the increased numbers of birds in free range production for the past two years and added: "Numbers have been increasing by 10% each year whilst consumption has been increasing by just 5%. Expansion is double the rate we need."

He also warned that while a collapse in the value of free range eggs had been delayed due to the fipronil crisis on the continent which saw huge numbers of birds and eggs destroyed, several countries have already returned to full production.

According to the Defra figures, average free range farm gate egg prices are down 2% year on year at 84.3pence per dozen in the first quarter of 2017 to 82.7p for the same number this year.

Enriched cage eggs maintained their price at 54p per dozen.

Overall, some 7.6m cases of eggs were packed in UK packing stations during the first quarter of this year, which is an increase of 3.8% on the first quarter of 2017 and 1.8% up on the last three months of 2017.

There were nevertheless some regional differences with egg numbers in England and Wales rising 3.3% to 5.5 million cases this year while numbers in Northern Ireland rose by just over 10%. Numbers packed in Scotland slipped by 0.5% to 965,000 cases.