Stan Graczyk has been in the egg business for 25 years and says trade is brisk as bird flu strikes local poultry farms again.
“We were inundated at the weekend,” he said. “The relief that we saw on people’s faces when we were serving them was unusual. They were saying, ‘I can’t believe you’ve got eggs. What are you doing with eggs?’”
Queensland couple Cheryl and John Piek at the Eggporium at Queen Victoria Market.Credit: Simon Schluter
Australians are paying 23 per cent more for eggs than they were two years ago, official data shows, as bird flu outbreaks limit supply. The big chains still have buying limits to manage supply challenges and prevent panic buying.
The average Australian consumes 266 eggs a year, up 24 per cent from a decade ago, according to the industry body Australian Eggs. Australians’ obsession with protein has contributed to the boom, and Graczyk saying some customers buy several trays to maintain their protein levels.
Avian influenza, a highly contagious viral infection of birds, was confirmed at two Victorian poultry farms this month. This is a new outbreak and not related to the 2024 outbreaks in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, which were eradicated. But the effects of last year’s bird flu outbreak linger.
“The [2024] outbreak reduced the number of laying hens in Australia, which unfortunately will take a while longer to rebuild,” said supermarket giant Woolworths. “The usual higher demand for eggs over Christmas and the new year’s period put an additional short-term strain on the availability of eggs across all retailers.”
Coles introduced a customer purchase limit on eggs in June last year.Credit: Louie Douvis
Graczyk said egg prices were probably the highest he had seen. His family-run business, the Eggporium at the Queen Victoria Market, is among the biggest egg market stalls in the country. It sells caged eggs from as low as $7.80 a carton, and certified organic eggs for up to $17.50 a dozen.
“Almost on a fortnightly basis our prices have gone up from our farms, and we’ve had to pass them on to our consumers, regrettably,” he said.
Queensland couple Cheryl and John Piek like to eat eggs a couple of times a week but have had to cut back on their consumption. They say stock is scarce and prices have risen to $10 a dozen for small eggs.
“You go to Coles and Woolworths and all those places, and you might be able to get the tiny eggs. And you’re allowed one dozen a customer, but there’s nothing else. You can’t find eggs,” said Cheryl.
Stan Graczyk runs big egg retailer Eggporium at the Queen Victoria Market.Credit: Simon Schluter
Graczyk doesn’t know if prices will continue to rise. Bird flu had taken about 2.5 million eggs out of the system, he said, and it took six to eight weeks for affected poultry farms to restart laying saleable-sized eggs. Egg lovers also face competition for Australian eggs from overseas, with some farms exporting to South-East Asia and New Zealand.
But Graczyk stressed that eggs were still available at markets, butchers, delis, fruit shops and small retailers, which have different suppliers to the big supermarkets. Free-range eggs from the major supermarkets, where available, now sell for between $5.50 and more than $13 a dozen.
Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies encouraged people to try a different brand or type of egg if their favourite was difficult to find.
“Despite these production losses due to avian influenza, national egg production has remained strong, with egg farmers producing over 18 million every day at the lowest point,” he said.
Australian egg prices have increased by 23.1 per cent over two years. Credit: iStock
Egg prices have risen to record $US4.95 ($7.77) a dozen in the US because of a bird flu outbreak that has killed millions of egg-laying hens.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not release egg prices in dollar amounts, but its inflation data shows eggs price have increased by 11.2 per cent in the past year, and 23.1 per cent over two years. Over three years, egg prices were up 37.5 per cent, the ABS said.
Woolworths’ online store shows most egg cartons are either out of stock or available only in store. Similarly, most eggs advertised on Coles online are not available for purchase.
Credit: Matt Golding
Coles said it would maintain its purchase limit of two cartons per transaction. “We kindly ask our customers to consider others in their community and purchase only what they need,” a spokesperson said.
Woolworths, which has had a two-pack purchase limit across states except Western Australia since the middle of last year, said egg supply was continuing to improve.
Metcash said its IGA supermarkets were not experiencing the same widespread shortages as the bigger chains because most sourced their eggs directly from local producers. “As availability and any supply disruptions would be on a store-by-store basis, we recommend that shoppers check with their local store,” a spokesperson said.
Aldi has no buying limits on eggs. Costco declined to comment.
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