South African supermarkets are rationing eggs as the country grapples with a shortage of poultry products amid a severe outbreak of avian flu.

Some supermarkets have limited the number of eggs that customers can buy to six, local media report.

Major retail chain Woolworths told local media outlet News24 that it had "implemented a limit on whole egg purchases in our stores to six eggs per customer".

Pick n Pay, another chain, reportedly asked people to "shop responsibly" and would limit purchases per customer to one or two egg packs.

Producers have been warning of a shortage of eggs and poultry meat due to the outbreak and the impact of power cuts on the industry.

The agriculture ministry last week said that over 2.5 million chickens had been killed, with five of the eight provinces affected by the outbreak.