October 2, 2023

 

Australia's egg producers struggle to meet domestic demand

 

 

There are more than 20 million chickens in Australia's national egg-laying stock but farmers said they are struggling to keep up with the nation's appetite.

 

Australians consume an average of 18 million eggs each day but due to a combination of factors, suppliers are struggling to keep supermarket shelves stocked.

 

Bird flu, floods, fires and other challenges have squeezed supply chains on the country's east coast and with Western Australia importing a quarter of its eggs from the east, it has left shoppers empty handed.

 

"What they've realised is that to get that consistency of supply and quality, they need to buy local, so we've definitely seen an uptake in demand for our eggs," egg farmer Colin Ford said.

 

He added that the decline in eastern egg production had huge ramifications on the supply chain across the country.

 

"They've had disruptions with disease," Ford said. He noted that could mean up to 500,000 birds were taken out of the system.

 

"I think customers realise that they can't rely on cheaper eastern states eggs coming in with disruptions to transport and production across there," he said.

 

Commercial Egg Producers Association of WA president Ian Wilson said he could not see the national shortage coming to an end in the near future.

 

"You can't double your production overnight," he said. "It's something where you slowly build a new shed, stock it, borrow the money, pay the money back and all the rest of it from the bank.

 

"Therefore we'd probably see shelves maybe a little bit bare for the foreseeable future."

 

Australians consumed 6.6 billion eggs last financial year, according to Australian Eggs.

 

Normally a reliable and affordable source of protein, eggs in Australia have doubled in price from about $4 a dozen for caged eggs to $8 — or up to $9 a dozen for free-range.

- ABC