Australia experiences egg shortage, supermarkets try to boost the availability

Eggs have become the newest food item to experience supply chain problems in Australia. Morning fry-ups may no longer be a breakfast option for people. Woolworths, a supermarket chain representative, said that decreased output on certain farms had an impact on the availability of locally produced eggs in several areas. The supermarket warned that as a result, customers might face availability problems. The firm is currently trying to boost its availability. Similarly, Coles had a two-carton limit on eggs per customer, but Woolworths didn’t have any restrictions.

A legislation was passed in 2018, which stated that egg-producing chickens should have access to the outdoors for at least eight hours a day, The Guardian reported.

The Victorian director of Egg Farmers of Australia, Brian Ahmed, claims that the sector produces enough eggs to satisfy the needs of Australians. Contradicting the legislation, Ahmed said that this impliesthat during winters, they would face difficulty in producing eggs. However, he believes that recovery is possible if there were better weather conditions.

Ian Onley, a biodynamic egg farmer in Gippsland, claims to have noticed a 20 per cent decrease in winter egg output in his pastured system.

McMonnies, managing director of Australian Eggs, said that there were a lot of factors affecting the shortage. According to him, there are many variables in free-range farming, including weather, but said that although the farmers have always been delivering throughout the year Covid’s disruption made things challenging. He further added that the reopening of cafes and restaurants after the lockdown decreased the demand for eggs instantly. However, the country was able to cope with it more quickly than was anticipated.

The demand for eggs has increased over the past 12 months.

(With inputs from agencies)

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