Coles has imposed limits on egg purchases – but is there actually a crisis?
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星期三, 六月 12, 2024
During the pandemic and its aftermath, there were shortages of all kinds of products, from AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid to frozen chips.
Key Points:
- During the pandemic and its aftermath, there were shortages of all kinds of products, from AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid to frozen chips.
- This week, many of us were perhaps worried to find ourselves in an eerily familiar situation when Coles limited egg purchases to two cartons per customer in all stores across the country except Western Australia.
- An outbreak of avian influenza or “bird flu” in Victoria, leading to culls impacting production at five poultry farms.
We’ve been here before
- The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) closely monitors the situation and oversees actions taken by states and territories to limit the spread.
- Recent outbreaks occurred in both New South Wales (2012-13) and Victoria (2020-21).
- But Australia’s outbreaks are a far cry from the sheer scale of the crisis that has afflicted the United States since 2022.
Is Australian egg production in real danger?
- Data from Australian Eggs, a member-owned not-for-profit company, shows that egg production in Australia is spread out across the states.
- Free-range production means hens can roam freely and interact, and practice a range of healthy natural behaviours.
- But free-range production levels are more prone to fluctuate with climate conditions (typically falling in winter), and it’s harder to control biosecurity.
- By then, sunnier and warmer days will likely see free-range egg production rise anyway.