Egg shortages continue at supermarkets across France

Growing demand means egg shortages continue across France, with little sign of improvement.

Impacting consumers for several months, a prolonged surge in demand has left farmers scrambling to meet demand.

Although France has not yet been impacted by ‘eggflation’ – whereby costs for soar as has been the case in the US – the appetite for eggs has increased the number of supermarkets facing shortage sixfold, says consumer intelligence group NielsenIQ.

A normal out-of-stock rate for a product is around 2% (meaning 2 people out of 100 will not be able to make their purchase), said Nielsen IQ Director David Lecomte in a post on social media site LinkedIn.

For eggs however, this has averaged at 13.3% so far in 2025, more than 7% higher than in 2024, a year when eggs were still subject to shortages far more than the average product.

Having started the year with out-of-stock rates for eggs of around 12%, since June levels of 15% are not uncommon to see, and at larger hypermarkets the average out-of-stock rate is 15.3%. 

A high-point earlier in the year saw 18% out-of-stock levels where hypermarkets had completely sold out. 

“Beyond the magnitude of this stockout rate, it is the duration that is remarkable,” Mr Lecomte added. 

Increase production or risk imports

The surge in demand for eggs can be explained, Mr Lecomte believes, by weaker purchasing power for French households. 

As shopping becomes more expensive, consumers look for nutritious and healthy products that have not increased in price nor been subject to ‘shrinkflation’.

“In times of declining purchasing power, eggs are an affordable product (€2.08 on average for 6 eggs across French supermarkets), easily adaptable to various recipes, and suitable for the whole family,” Mr Lecomte said.

They are seen as an alternative source of protein compared to more expensive meat products, which have seen costs rise in recent years.

Mr Lecomte believes there are two ways out of the crisis.

The first – and least likely – is to reduce the demand for eggs through alternative foods. With habits unlikely to change anytime soon, eggs are expected to remain sought after.

The second is for egg production to increase to meet the demand.

French farmers must play a balancing act between adhering to strict regulations and providing an increased number of eggs. If they do not, there is a risk of imported eggs becoming more commonplace. 

Previously, farmers have criticised the importing of Ukrainian eggs, which they say are not subject to the same strict regulations as those domestically-produced, and therefore can be sold cheaper. 

They also say the eggs can pose health and environmental risks.