Foreign media: Australia's "free-range" chicken requirement has sharply increased costs for poultry farmers, causing a nationwide "egg shortage"

Since Australia introduced a new “free-range” farming regulation in March this year, the increased investment by farmers in infrastructure, combined with rising meat prices driving up egg consumption, has led to a severe egg shortage across all of Australia. Some analysts say the “egg shortage” could last for months. The regulation has sparked serious public discontent.

The Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Mail reported that due to the mandatory requirements of the “free-range” regulation, farmers have been pouring their main funds into building coops and sheds that comply with the regulation, causing a severe drop in egg production. On the other hand, as meat prices continue to rise, Australian consumers are increasingly choosing relatively cheap eggs as a substitute and supplement, with consumption rising 3.5% to 4% each year. With one side falling and the other rising, fresh eggs have long been absent from the egg shelves of major Australian supermarkets. The estimate from Coward, a spokesperson for the Australian Chicken Farmers Association, is even more disheartening -- he predicts the “egg shortage” will last 2 to 3 months, and egg prices will continue to increase.

In light of this, some supermarket egg shelves have posted notices apologizing to customers: “We are working hard to provide egg substitutes. Due to supply issues, eggs are currently out of stock.”

The “free-range” regulation introduced by Australian authorities in March stipulates that only one chicken may be raised per square meter, and chickens must “have the opportunity to go outside the coop.” At the same time, some regulations that have not yet been finalized include the size of the sheds, and this uncertainty is leading farmers to build more sheds to meet demand.