The British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) is to ask Sainsbury’s for an urgent meeting after the retailer confirmed it is stocking eggs imported from Italy.

Robert Gooch, BFREPA chief executive, said he was not surprised by the development, which follows warnings he made in March that the country would be short of British eggs by Christmas if farmers were not paid a sustainable price.

Soaring costs of production, which include chicken feed, energy, diesel, pullets and packaging, have crippled many businesses, causing farms to reduce hen numbers, pause production temporarily or quit the industry altogether.

“We have been warning for months that failing to pay farmers a price which allows them to make a profit would result in mass de-stocking or, worse still, an exodus from the industry,” Robert said.

“Seeing Italian eggs on the shelves is a wake-up call to all retailers that they can’t expect farmers to work for nothing. Enough is enough.

“I will be writing to Sainsbury’s today to ask for a meeting to discuss how we forge a more sustainable future for egg producers. Sainsbury’s has made strong commitments to British free range egg producers in the past and I hope a positive dialogue can bring about change from what is a disappointing situation.”

BFREPA data shows the average price of a dozen eggs has risen by about 50p in supermarkets but some farmers have only seen a price rise of between five and 10p. In March, BFREPA called on all retailers to increase the price paid to farmers by 40p per dozen.

Avian Influenza (bird flu) has compounded the issue of egg availability, with the disease resulting in the compulsory culling of hundreds of thousands of egg-laying hens across colony, barn and free-range systems.

There are approximately 36.7m egg laying birds in the national flock, but there is capacity on farms for more than 44m hens.