The scene has been repeating itself for months, but in recent weeks the situation has worsened: the shelves of French supermarkets where eggs are usually found are empty or half-empty. Buying them isn't impossible, but you might have to visit several supermarkets before finding them. The problem of the egg shortage—an essential ingredient in French cuisine—is explained by a growing imbalance between supply and demand. Egg consumption in France has increased by 15% in the last three years, while production has barely grown, according to data from the National Egg Promotion Committee (CNPO). Last year, the French consumed an average of 240 eggs per person, a figure well above that of neighboring countries like Spain, where consumption stands at 143 eggs per person annually, or Belgium, where it barely exceeds 80 eggs per year. According to experts, the increase in egg consumption is explained by several factors, especially the rising price of other protein-rich foods like meat, which has led many French people to opt for eating more eggs. According to the CNPO (French National Council for the Prevention of Cruelty to Foods), the shift in scientific discourse has also played a significant role in the increase in egg consumption in France. "For a long time, eggs were restricted for people with high cholesterol, but they are no longer considered responsible for raising cholesterol levels," they point out. Le Parisien Alice Richard, director of the National Egg Promotion Committee.

The data reflects a sharp increase in egg prices in recent months. A dozen medium-sized eggs, which are usually the most consumed, has gone from around two euros to more than three in the store. The final price of this basic product cannot be compared to the price hike experienced by olive oil. However, it is a rise that has begun to worry consumers, although its impact on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), due to its weighting, is very insignificant compared, for example, to other basic products like bread. In any case, everyone immediately recalled the effects of avian flu and the measures that the Spanish government implemented to prevent the spread of the disease among birds, such as their confinement. Some of the price increase is related, those in the sector admit, but the data shows that a large part corresponds to the improved profit margins of those who sell the eggs to the end consumer. In January, the farmgate price of a dozen eggs – the price farmers received for their product – was €1.74, while the retail price to the end consumer was €2.40. This difference means that consumers were paying 38% more than farmers received, according to monitoring by COAG (the Spanish Confederation of Farmers' and Livestock Organizations). The fact is that, in October, the farmgate price of the same dozen eggs was €1.97, while consumers were paying €3.15 in stores. The profit margin for intermediaries or distributors has increased by 22 percentage points. If in January the difference between the farmgate price and what the consumer pays was 66 cents, in October it rose to €1.18, a significant increase. The price for farmers increased by 13% during this period, while the price paid by consumers rose by 31%.

That the price of eggs has risen in recent months is undeniable, and the avian flu outbreak, which has forced the confinement of poultry farms, isn't helping to lower prices. But in addition to the increased price per dozen, the gap between the farmgate price—what the farmer receives—and the price the consumer pays in the store has also widened. The agricultural organization COAG has long compiled the IPOD, a monthly indicator of the price difference between various food products at the farm gate—fruits, vegetables, meat, and others—and the price paid by the consumer. In the case of average-sized eggs, which this organization analyzes, the gap has grown considerably this year.

Pregnancies after 40 They are becoming increasingly common in Catalonia. And, in fact, it's the only age group where there are more births now than fifteen years ago, when the birth rate began to plummet. It's just the tip of the iceberg of a more complex reality in which Catalan women who want to have children are postponing the decision to become mothers for many reasons, such as the difficulties of balancing work and family life and the increase in job insecurity. Ahead delayed motherhoodMany women choose to freeze their eggs in case they decide to become mothers at an age when the chances of getting pregnant are lower. This has led to an exponential increase in the number of women preserving their fertility in this way in recent years, and consequently, to a large accumulation of eggs in biobanks where reproductive cells are stored. The reason: the law does not allow them to be destroyed when the woman wishes, an unusual circumstance that does not occur in the case of sperm, where nothing prevents a man from deciding to eliminate his reserve whenever he wants.

Eggs, a staple in the shopping basket, have seen a significant price increase, especially since August, due to a combination of two factors: increased consumption and, more recently, the avian flu outbreak. As a result, a dozen of the most common eggs, medium-sized, reached €2.40 at the farm gate, compared to €1.90 at the beginning of October, representing a 26% increase, according to data from the Bellpuig Exchange, one of the country's main exchanges. Other sizes, such as XL, also experienced the same trend, reaching €2.88 per dozen, an increase of almost 20% in two months. This means that a dozen of the most common eggs, medium-sized, now costs well over €3 in stores, whereas just a few days ago they were around €2.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has decreed the confinement, effective this Thursday, of all free-range poultry on farms across the country. The measure represents a "reinforcement" of preventative measures to control the spread of avian influenza, according to the Spanish government, as it is a highly contagious viral disease. The executive branch has issued a ministerial order affecting all poultry farms in the country, including organic farms, those raising poultry for personal consumption, and those producing meat or eggs for direct sale to consumers. The order extends the prohibition to all animals kept outdoors. The measure had been in effect since Monday in areas considered to be of special risk and under special surveillance, which until now comprised 1,201 municipalities. According to Joan Anton Rafecas, president of the Catalan Poultry Federation (FAC, the Catalan employers' association for the sector), these are "preventive measures" aimed at preventing the spread of avian influenza. Since July, 139 outbreaks of this disease have been reported on European poultry farms, 14 of which have been detected on Spanish farms. Half of the cases in Spain have been reported in Castile and León—the epicenter of the disease in Spain is in the province of Valladolid—and none on Catalan farms. However, now all poultry farms in Spain must also comply with a series of measures, within the framework of the extension of this lockdown. These measures include the prohibition of raising ducks and geese with other poultry species, providing birds with water from containers accessible to wild birds, and protecting outdoor water containers from wild waterfowl. Holding competitions or exhibitions with the presence of poultry is prohibited, and it is also required that when confinement of the birds is not possible, the competent authority of each autonomous community may authorize maintaining confinement outdoors through the placement of bird netting. In this respect, most Catalan poultry farms are not affected by the measure because they already raise the birds in enclosed, covered areas. According to data from the Catalan Poultry Federation (FAC), the ministerial order will affect approximately 10% of the sector in Catalonia, which are the farms that do keep the animals outdoors. Farmers' understanding

Rafecas recalls in statements to ARA that in Catalonia there has been no case of avian flu since 2023, when Only one was detected throughout the entire yearHowever, the president of the Catalan Poultry Federation (FAC) is understanding of the measure approved by the Spanish government. "It's not the most desirable, but it's the most convenient," he notes, while pointing out that in recent years—for example, two years ago—other confinements of farm birds have already been approved to prevent further outbreaks, so the ministerial order is not new for Catalan farmers. Keeping the birds confined may cause some "inconveniences" on certain farms, mainly operational in nature, Rafecas adds. Regarding a possible financial impact or on prices, the FAC does not foresee much more than a "negligible" decrease in egg production resulting from the hens being kept in enclosed spaces, but without causing any significant losses, according to the president of the association.

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The inability of women to conceive began to be treated as a medical issue nearly two hundred years ago. However, it hasn't been until the last four decades that science has made a push to find solutions to infertility linked to age or caused by the side effects of treatments for certain diseases such as cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in six people worldwide will experience this problem in their lifetime, and in the case of women, research has opened up promising avenues. One example is the study published this Tuesday in Nature Communications The team of American biologist Shoukhrat Mitalipov, a pioneer in reproductive research, has proven that, in the laboratory, human skin cells can be used to produce fertilizable eggs using an innovative technique.

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One in six people suffers from infertility problems, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and one in 10 children are now born through assisted reproduction techniques in Spain—in 2022, there were 39,546 babies, according to the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF), out of 16,719 born. in vitro (IVF) and 31,635 artificial inseminations (AI). Although the success of these techniques is indisputable, the figures already show that going through an assisted reproduction process is not a piece of cake. The success rates, which depend on age and other factors, are 13.7% in the case of artificial insemination, and 43.8% in each cycle ofin vitro which reaches embryo transfer (when the embryo is placed in the uterus), which occurs in 60% of the cycles initiated.

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The price of the cheapest supermarket eggs, category M, rose 25.2% in just one month, from between €2.07 and €2.10 per dozen in February to €2.60 in March, according to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU). As for category L eggs, the price has risen by an average of 15.4% compared to April 2024. This increase has already alerted consumers and sectors such as the hospitality and food industry, where eggs are considered a staple food.

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