Various painted Easter eggs are displayed at an exhibition at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, March 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)RAF CASERT, Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP) – ‘Tis the season to paint Easter eggs in Europe. Now children, listen: Handle with care, they break easily – and this year there are not too many about so they are very expensive.
Demand for eggs traditionally reaches its peak around the Easter holiday. This year, the egg industry has been hit by the European Union’s new requirements for bigger, more animal-friendly cages for hens. The changes it brings have affected production and, combined with high feed cost, boosted consumer prices.
Ahead of Easter Sunday, on April 8 or 15 depending on the religious denomination, it makes for a costly tradition on a continent where millions have grown up painting or dyeing eggs as children and are now facing economic crisis.
At Warsaw’s Hala Mirowska market, the egg sales of Jacek Bechcicki are down as he faces customers grumbling about high prices. “The holiday will be poorer for some of my customers,” Bechcicki said.