Blame it on winter: Egg shortage hits Australia as supermarket shelves go empty

Due to the shortage, a supermarket in Australia put a cap to the number of eggs customers can buy. (Representational image)

Australia is currently facing a shortage of a food product that could endanger weekend breakfast fry-ups. Caught in supply chain woes, the country is running short of its supply of eggs.

A spokesperson for Woolworths, one of the largest supermarket chains in the country, told The Guardian that decreased production on a number of farms had affected the supply of locally produced eggs in some regions.

“Customers may notice reduced availability at the moment” the supermarket chain said, adding that it was working with suppliers to make the breakfast staple available “as soon as possible”.

Another supermarket company, Coles, had in July put a limit to the number of eggs customers can buy -- two-carton per customer -- but other supermarkets do not have similar measures in place, the publication reported.

According to the Victorian director of Egg Farmers of Australia, Brian Ahmed, the industry produces enough eggs to supply the Australian public but the supply chain problem had resulted due to the move away from caged eggs.

In 2018, Australia had introduced laws which mandated that hens producing free range eggs (eggs produced by using traditional farming methods including allowing hens to roam outdoors) must be able to roam outdoors for at least eight hours each day. This meant that egg producers struggled with production during winter because of colder temperatures and less daylight hours.

Gippsland biodynamic egg farmer Ian Onley told The Guardian that in his farm, where hens were not kept in barns with artificial controls, there is a 20 per cent drop in egg production during winters.

Ahmed, however, told the publication that he's expecting supply levels to return to normalcy in major supermarkets in September if better weather conditions prevail.

Meanwhile,  Rowan McMonnies, the managing director of Australian Eggs, assured consumers that egg farmers would ensure that the demand is met in future.