Madison Eastmond, Murray Pioneer
Eggs are currently in short supply on supermarket shelves, with a Riverland farmer and industry official claiming impacts of avian influenza and an increasing push to free-range is impacting South Australian consumers.
Riverland consumers are currently facing empty egg shelves and purchase limits as shortages continue to impact major supermarkets.
Glenview Poultry Farm owner and South Australian and Tasmanian director of Egg Farmers of Australia, Darren Letton, told The Murray Pioneer the shortages are due to a range of consumer, governmental, and environmental factors.
Established in the Riverland for the past 55 years, Glenview Poultry Farm houses 28000 hens with 16,000 as cage and 12,000 as free range.
As a long time, industry expert, Mr Letton said one of the first major reasons for the current shortage is the Victorian strain of avian influenza that broke out last May, now said to be one of the largest outbreaks on record.
“The recent bird flu affected the eastern states, causing two million hens to be put down,” Mr Letton said.
“Farmers are still recovering from this.
“South Australia also imports eggs into the state to support the big supermarkets, so if there is a shortage over there, eggs won’t come here.”
While there is no legislation that forces farmers to change over to free range production, with states currently left to decide their own course of action, Mr Letton said a consumer and supermarket push towards free range was growing, with a looming government threat of enforcing the farming practice that has seen many make a recent system change.
“Some of our bigger egg farms are also making the change from caged eggs to free range, which is a long process that ultimately doesn’t produce as many eggs on average,” he said.
“Cage systems are a lot less problematic than commercial free range, as free range can cause bird mingling together, building, and a risk of disease.
“Caged eggs allow a controlled environment where hens get food and don’t get hot – ultimately, it can produce more eggs.
“Recently, the Federal Government met with state ministers and gave them the control for legislation.
“It all depends on who the minister is at the time, so a lot of farmers are deciding to just make the change now.
“These are factors controlled by supermarkets too, as most have a policy to stock free range eggs.”
Mr Letton said demand for eggs in the current consumer market was unprecedented.
“People panic when they see a shortage, so I would guess there are a lot of people buying more than they need in case they are unable to get eggs soon again,” he said.
“It’s also a really busy period, I’ve never seen it this busy – my farm supplies Sunraysia, as well as the Riverland, and we are really feeling the push for eggs from the communities.”
This article appeared in the Murray Pioneer, 22 January 2025.
