Australians are being hit by a national egg shortage as consumers move towards free-range eggs amid rising production costs, extreme weather events and labor shortages.
Supermarkets across the country have re-implemented purchase limits, with farmers struggling to keep up with demand after reducing chicken numbers during the lockdown.
The owner of Chooks at the Rooke, a free-range egg farm in Melbourne’s south-west, Xavier Prime told 3AW Radio part of the problem was the cold weather which affected how often the birds laid eggs.
“Part of it is the time of year, too.” he said
“Free-range eggs, in that kind of space the birds are open to the elements, and with the shorter daylight hours, that has a lot to do with how many eggs the hens lay.”
Mr. Prime said that “to set the optimum,” the hens need 15 to 16 hours of light each day, but right now they’re only experiencing 10 to 11 hours.
A Woolworths spokesman said the egg shortage was due to production shortages on farms, with the cost of young egg-laying hens rising by 20%.
“The market-wide supply of locally produced eggs in some regions has recently been affected by reduced production at several farms,” they said.
“While we continue to deliver eggs to our stores regularly, customers may notice reduced availability at this time and we appreciate your patience and understanding.
“We are in close contact with our suppliers and are working to increase the availability of eggs in stores as soon as possible.”
The supermarket giant has introduced a two-carton limit in some stores.
Mr Prime said he hoped the supply shortage would not push consumers back to cage eggs.
But free-range eggs aren’t the only product Australian shoppers are being stripped of, with supermarkets reporting bare shelves for other household items such as chickpeas, lentils, lettuce, tissues and pills for cold and flu.
“We are experiencing reduced availability in some of our lentil and chickpea products due to supply chain delays,” a Woolworths spokesman said.
Supply chain issues are a combination of the war in Ukraine, flooding and other extreme weather events on Australian coasts.
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