With almost bare shelves at neighborhood shops around the nation, eggs are the newest commodity affected by supply chain problems, prompting Coles to impose a ban on egg sales.
Customers of Coles are no longer allowed to buy more than two cartons of eggs in a single store.
According to a Coles spokeswoman, they are continuing to check inventories and increase availability across all shops.
The representative said, “We’re continuing to monitor supply, working hard with our suppliers to enhance availability, and will keep consumers informed on any changes.”
Coles has also instituted a restriction of two tissue boxes per store.
Egg shortages were caused by egg producers’ lower output, a Woolworths spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia, but the company is working hard with suppliers to enhance the availability of eggs in all of its shops.
‘Reduced output on a number of farms has lately had an effect on the market-wide availability of locally produced eggs in certain locations,’ a Woolworths representative said.
‘While we continue to deliver eggs to our stores regularly, customers may notice reduced availability at the moment and we thank them for their patience and understanding.
“We are working closely with our suppliers to enhance the amount of eggs available in shops as quickly as feasible.”
Despite the market’s limited supply, according to Woolworths, eggs are nevertheless regularly supplied to retailers.
Brett Langfield, an egg farmer in NSW, told Daily Mail Australia that the scarcity may go on for months.
According to Mr. Langfield, flocks are down by around 10% across NSW, in part due to a Covid hangover.
According to him, there was a large demand for eggs during lockdowns, but when people were let back in, there was a low demand for eggs.
Farmers reduced their flocks by around 20% as a result.
Farmers “lack confidence” that increasing flocks would be worthwhile to them because to the rising expenses of fuel and food, the latter of which is linked to the Ukraine conflict. They haven’t yet returned to full numbers.
The owner of Melbourne’s Chooks at the Rooke free-range egg farm, Xavier Prime, told 3AW Radio that the present cold weather and shorter days associated with winter are a significant problem with egg production.
“The season of the year has a role in it. With free-range eggs, the birds are exposed to the elements in that kind of environment, and because the days are shorter, it has a big impact on how many eggs the hens lay,’ he said.
According to Mr. Prime, chickens require between 15 and 16 hours of sunshine each day to lay at their best, but they now only get between 10 and 11.