What’s behind Australia’s egg shortage

Australia is experiencing an egg shortage, with the shift towards free range eggs, rising production costs, worker shortages and the pandemic all contributing to the shortfall.

Farmers also reduced their flocks during COVID-19 when restaurants were closed.

Owner of Chooks at the Rooke, a free-range egg farm in Cororooke, Xavier Prime, confirmed “there is a bit of an egg shortage” at the moment.

“Part of it is the time of year,” he told Ross and Russel.

“Free range eggs, in that sort of space the birds are open to the elements, and with the daylight hours being shorter that has a lot to do with how many eggs the chickens lay.”

Chickens need 15 to 16 hours of daylight per day for optimum laying. Battery farms overcome this requirement throughout winter by using artificial lighting which is always on, by free range farms don’t do this so have reduced output in winter.

Press PLAY below to hear what’s fuelling the egg shortage