For Budapest SPAR stores only sell barn, organic and free-range eggs from 2024

Four SPAR stores in Budapest will, initially on a trial basis, only offer barn, organic and free-range eggs, excluding cage eggs, from the end of January 2024. The latter have already been gradually phased out of the market, in line with EU efforts to end cage farming in the member states.

The proportion of barn, organic and free-range eggs sold in SPAR stores has gradually increased over the last decade, while the proportion of caged eggs has decreased. While e.g. in 2014, 2.24 percent of all eggs sold were in the organic category, by this year the share has doubled. The same is true for free-range eggs which have been available in SPAR stores for four years: their share has quadrupled from 0.96 percent in 2020 to nearly 4 percent of all eggs sold in 2023. The proportion of eggs from barn production has also increased dramatically, from nine out of every 100 eggs sold 10 years ago to three times that number today.

“Our supermarkets in MOM Park in Budapest, Stop Shop on Hűvösvölgyi út, the Rózsakert shopping centre on Gábor Áron út and the SPAR supermarket on Péterhegyi lejtő in District XI, will offer only barn, organic and free-range eggs from 2024, in a pilot programme. During the recent years, our company has been continuously reducing the proportion of cage eggs, in order to approach the EU target,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

The range of eggs will continue to be extensive in the four designated stores, with 16 types of barn, organic and free-range products. All eggs distributed in SPAR stores come from reliable local producers. In order to allow producers, suppliers and consumers to adapt, SPAR Hungary is gradually moving towards barn, organic and free-range eggs.