WA shoppers face looming egg shortage, empty shelves
Supermarket shelves across some areas in Western Australia have been laid bare as the flow-on effects of bird flu impact the supply of eggs.
Avian influenza — also known as bird flu — was first detected in Victoria last May, forcing egg producers to destroy millions of chickens, diminishing the overall national flock numbers.
Avian influenza has not reached Western Australia’s chicken population. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
The resulting tight supply of eggs has impacted consumers in the eastern states for months, with purchase limits enforced in some supermarkets to manage availability.
The fast-spreading disease has not reached Western Australia, but supermarket egg shelves around the state have been left empty.
As WA partially relies on bringing eggs interstate to fill a supply gap, there is now a hole that local producers are scrambling to fill.
The flow-on effect
Free-range egg producer Colin Ford supplies eggs to several independent grocers and restaurants in WA’s Great Southern region.
In recent weeks, he has received more requests from buyers from Perth and the east coast to purchase pallets of his eggs.
Colin Ford has about 34,000 hens and continues to expand his free-range egg farm in Cranbrook. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
But he has no spare supply.
“All our production is accounted for,” he said.
“It’s like anything in agriculture — you can’t just flick a switch and get extra production.
Colin Ford says his planned increase in production will not happen overnight. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
“We’ve got a farm shop in Albany and there are a lot of people coming in saying they can’t find eggs in their local supermarket.“
For now, Mr Ford is not worried about avian influenza spreading to flocks in WA.
“With our geographical location and lack of migratory birds, including the sparcity of chicken farms, the risk of spread is minimised,” he said.
“Biosecurity is always in the back of your mind, but like anything in agriculture, you just have to do whatever you can to minimise risk.
“It’s not a nice thing to be going through; it’s not good for the industry.”
Colin Ford says he will not be raising the price of his eggs in response to the uptick in demand. (ABC Great Southern: Georgia Hargreaves)
Reliance on interstate supply
While most of the eggs in WA stores are produced within the state, a sizeable portion of egg supply also comes from interstate.
Elizabeth Jackson is an associate professor of supply chain management and logistics at Curtin University in Western Australia.
Elizabeth Jackson says some stores in Perth have bare shelves and others are fully stocked with cartons of eggs. (Supplied)
“With so many of our eggs being freighted in from the eastern states, we are suffering with low supply,” Dr Jackson said.
“In situations like this, it would be really good to have more egg producers in this state, not only for supply chain risk mitigation but also to add economic prosperity to the state.
“But with production systems as they are, it’s just cheaper to get them [interstate].”
Egg shelves are empty from Karratha (top left) to Bunbury. (ABC News)
Dr Jackson said WA shoppers might face an increase in egg prices as a result of the shortage.
Woolworths denies supply issues in WA
A Woolworths spokesperson said WA was well-placed when it came to egg supply, and stores were not experiencing shortages despite displaying signs in a regional store apologising for the lack of availability.
A Woolworths supermarket apologises to customers in Bunbury for the lack of egg availability. (ABC South West: Kate Forrester)
In June last year, Coles introduced customer purchase limits for those buying eggs from stores across Australia to manage availability.
The purchase limit from Coles is nationwide, and a spokesperson confirmed it would remain in place for the foreseeable future.
The Coles spokesperson did not comment on the current supply issues seen in WA.
