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Egg shortage: Reason free-range cartons missing in Woolworths, Coles

If you have been struggling to find a carton of eggs at your local supermarket, you are certainly not alone.

Shoppers have been left frustrated by yet another staple item disappearing from supermarket shelves, with Coles even introducing a two-carton limit for customers.

Australia is in the midst of a national egg shortage, meaning supply is patchy and prices are on the rise.

But what is behind the egg supply crisis?

Suppliers have claimed part of the problem stems from lockdowns, when farmers had to decrease their chicken numbers.

However, Edith Cowan University senior lecturer and WA president of the Australasian Supply Chain Institute (ASCI), Flavio Macau, said the shortage is a reflection of customers preferring free-range eggs over caged eggs.

The production of free-range eggs is more affected by the colder and short days of winter, I have explained in an article for The Conversation.

Sales of free-range eggs have shot up over the years, leading many farmers to invest heavily in increasing their free-range production.

“Like many agricultural industries where farmers respond to price signals and predictions, this led to overproduction, leading to lower prices and profits,” Associate Professor Macau said.

NSW’s total flock size peaked in 2017-18 but the overproduction and lower profits led to a 10 per cent drop in egg production the following year.

Then came increased compliance costs, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2018 introducing rules around what is classified as free range.

Under the rules, hens need to have “meaningful and regular access” to an outdoor area during the daylight hours of their laying cycle.

“This experience has likely influenced farmers’ reluctance to increase their flocks based on predictions of higher demand,” Associate Professor Macau explained.

It isn’t only the increased land requirements that make producing free-range eggs more expensive, it is also the less consistent laying.

Unlike cage or barn hens, free-range hens don’t live in optimized conditions to stimulate laying, such as consistent temperatures and being exposed to 16 hours of light every day.

“Free-range hens are affected by hot or cold temperatures, wind and rain, and length of daylight,” Associate Professor Macau said.

“In winter months they have less energy and produce (on average) 20 per cent fewer eggs than a chicken confined indoors in controlled conditions.”

He said economic and environmental events in 2022 have made things difficult for farmers, who are facing time lags and cost pressures.

“Increasing a laying flock takes about four months. An egg takes about three weeks to hatch. Under ideal conditions, chicks need another 17 weeks before they are ready to begin laying,” he said.

“Any farmer who has begun this process in the past month will be producing more eggs by December. But then it will be summer, when they won’t need 20 per cent more hens to make up for their winter slump.”

The rising cost of living also means feed, electricity and transport costs have shot up, forcing many farmers to be careful about how they conduct their business.

“It is preferable to undersupply than to go bankrupt through oversupply,” Associate Professor Macau said.

The notion of the winter slump has been backed up by farmers.

Last week Xavier Prime, owner of Chooks at the Rooke, a free-range egg farm southwest of Melbourne, told 3AW that “to lay the optimum”, hens needs 15-16 hours of daylight every day, but at the moment they are experiencing just 10-11 hours.

“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,” he explained.

Associate Professor Macau said a short-term fix to the supply issues seemed “unlikely”, noting wet weather forecasts from August to October were not favorable laying conditions.

However, once the weather warms up, production should return to normal levels.

“Unless consumers are willing to pay more to ensure a constant supply in winter months, our shift to free-range eggs carries a higher likelihood of winter shortages,” he said.

“We must do what we have done through every disruption in recent times: endure, adapt and prepare for the next crisis.”

Read related topics:Woolworth’s

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Cost of living: New data from Foodbomb exposes foods hit hardest by inflation

As the consumer price index (CPI) tips over 6 per cent, new data reveals how much staple pantry items, fruits and vegetables have soared in price over the last six months.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.9 per cent in the last year due to high freight costs, supply constraints and strong demand.

As a result, consumers and businesses have gone to extreme lengths to cope with the country’s cost of living crisis as empty shelves, sky-high price tags and costly grocery bills become the new normal.

Recently there have been some unusual methods Australians have used to slash costs and make-up for insufficient stock, including broccoli stalks being broken off and left on fresh produce units and KFC switching lettuce for cabbage in its burgers.

So with the effects of inflation felt and seen right around the country, food experts from Foodbomb crunched the numbers to assess which foods are having the greatest impact on consumers’ hip pockets.

Research shows that broccoli, iceberg lettuce and baby spinach have been the most expensive items in short supply within the last six months.

Broccoli has increased by a staggering 130 per cent, with a box previously worth $42 now costing stockists $95 each. This increase is then passed onto consumers per kilo.

Meanwhile, the price of iceberg lettuce hiked from $4 to $10.80, at a 151 per cent increase. A bag of shredded lettuce also rose for $7.50 per kilo.

As for baby spinach, the price for a 1.5kg box more than doubled, rising from $16.50 to $38.50.

While these prices have caused trouble for consumers and businesses in the past, offering some hope is Mouhamad Dib, the company director at MD Provodores.

He told news.com.au that despite the increase in costs observed recently, the inflated price tags on these leafy vegetables won’t be here to stay.

“The cost of fertilizer from the farms, to labor shortages and transport costs has amplified pricing across all sectors,” Mr Dib said.

“But with spring around the corner and summer days behind it, we hope to see some prices come down. Lettuce leaves are definitely still in short supply, but broccoli and baby spinach are getting better.”

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for staple pantry items and animal products which are taking a hit as a result of global events and supply chain issues.

Oil unexpectedly soared in price with 20 liters of sunflower oil doubling from $30.60 to $66. Whereas the cost of canola oil is triple the amount, with some suppliers selling the same quantity for as much as $92.10.

It’s bad news for egg lovers with the war in Ukraine preventing farmers globally from sourcing feed grain which has in turn slowed egg production.

As a result, wholesale prices for a one dozen carton of free-range eggs have risen from $2.60 to $4.45. Caged eggs have also seen a similar increase however, they aren’t selling out in supermarkets as quickly due to the shift in demand for the cage-free range.

Foodbomb predicts that egg supply will run tight for the next 18 months as feed supply becomes increasingly difficult to source.

Salmon and chicken breast are also among some of the other animal products in short supply while selling at a higher cost, now ticketed at $40kg and 9.50kg respectively.

Similar to the egg situation, consumers can expect the price of chicken meat to remain high for the next 12 months.

Anthony Ponte from the operations and procurement department at wholesaler Melba Fresh told news.com.au that these price increases are a reflection of the market.

“(Prices) are going up because the supply is going down, while the demand is staying the same if not increasing. As a result, we’re getting less sales and it’s getting harder and harder to source produce,” he said.

“We’ve been looking everywhere, interstate and all kinds of places, just trying to get our hands on products. It’s been very hard. We have to split what we’ve got between orders, but you still ultimately end up disappointing everyone.”

Mushrooms also make Foodbomb’s top 10 list of expensive items in short supply with a box now priced at $50 each. Lebanese cucumbers, $11 per kilo, and cabbage, $14 each, come in at ninth and 10th place.

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