Egg farmer shares urgent warning on shortages as some supermarkets impose buying limits

Australian consumers are spotting empty egg shelves at major supermarkets with some stores even imposing buying limits on the household staple.

The shortage is the result of Australia’s bird flu outbreaks last year, with farmers now having to build their laying stock up again, as well as high seasonal demand over the festive season and a shift away from caged eggs requiring producers to adjust their practices, industry peak body Egg Farmers of Australia said.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Eggs in short supply.

The bird flu outbreak, during which strains of the H7 virus affected eight Victorian poultry farms, six in New South Wales and two in the ACT last year, resulted in the culling of millions of birds.

Egg farmer Danyel Cucinotta appeared on Sunrise on Tuesday, warning the egg shortage could become worse in the coming months.

“In 2024, we know in that May and June we had avian influenza in a number of our east coast states, we saw about two to three million birds culled and now we’re seeing the effects of that,” Cucinotta said.

“That, on top of the fact we have regulations coming in from the government imposing bans on almost 50 per cent of our production in the caged eggs system.

“Then, the final factor is that demand is on the rise.

“(Because of the) cost-of-living crisis, more people are eating eggs. I’m not sure how the supermarkets will keep up unless they start farming but farmers are working really hard right now to catch up.”

Cucinotta said the egg crisis could last for 12 to 18 months.

“Those farms that were devastated by the avian influenza outbreak in June, they were the farmers who were producing for the supermarkets directly.

“Remember, birds don’t get produced overnight. Our flock systems are set up almost two years in advance.

“Across this country there’s only two breeders. It will take farmers 12 months, 18 months, or two years to get the flock sizes back up and running,” she said.