New Zealand: New Zealand Experiences Egg Supply Shortage

With the start of 2023, New Zealand has begun to experience a nation-wide egg shortage, which follows price rises for eggs during the last year. Contributing factors for the price increase and supply shortfall are labor shortages in laying operations, input costs rising such as for feed, as well as overall high national inflation. However, many industry analysts believe the largest factor is the implementation of rules associated with cages in egg laying operations. On January 1st, 2023, rules in the New Zealand Code of Welfare for layer hens came into effect and industry estimates are that the current national laying flock is almost 10 percent less than what is required to meet national consumption, and adequate supply is not expected to return until national numbers increase through replacement animals.