Mainland eggs are being snapped up as people look for cheaper alternatives to Japanese eggs, whose prices have surged amid limited supply after a bird flu outbreak in Japan, Sing Tao Probe reported.

It said the bird flu H5-strain outbreaks have affected many egg farms in Japan.

The Hong Kong office of Japan’s National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations has said egg exports from its farms to the SAR had dropped by 30 to 50 percent and warned the shortage will last until June.

Supermarkets have seen an unstable supply of Japanese eggs in recent weeks, and some Japanese-style supermarkets also had to switch to selling eggs from Thailand, Vietnam and Hubei province in the mainland.

A supermarket employee said all cheap eggs that cost HK$20 for 10 also had short supply recently and they were snapped up immediately.

Eggs from Hubei have become popular amid the Japanese shortage as dozens of people queued outside a Tsuen Wan store that only sells fresh Hubei and Beijing eggs.

The person in charge of the store, Wong, said it offered a screening service to make sure all eggs sold by the store are of high quality and the store will not sell broken eggs to customers. Wong said the supply of eggs from Japan and Europe has been unstable since the beginning of the year and the cost continues to increase, while the price and supply of Hubei eggs are stable.

Each Hubei egg costs only HK$1.4 compared to HK$2 for a Japanese egg, he said, adding both types are of similar quality.

A Hong Kong Food Council member and the person in charge of Japanese egg agent Sun Lee Laan said there was no need for panic buying.

He said people can choose cheap eggs that cost HK$20 for 10 for cooking regular meals, reminding the public the eggs are usually delivered to Hong Kong by ship and cannot be eaten raw.

If people want to eat raw eggs with rice or hot pot, they should choose high-quality Japanese eggs that are flown in by air and cost HK$70 for 10 eggs or HK$40 for six eggs.

Online videos showed a rush to buy Japanese eggs in the supermarket, with some people being trapped in the crowd and shouting: “Let me out!”

Photos also showed dozens of people waiting outside the supermarket to snap up the eggs.

Scramble for mainland eggs as Japanese prices boil