Egg production in Australia - Data and Analysis (1993-2033)

IBISWorld forecasts egg production to increase by 7.6% during 2025-26 to 4.54 billion eggs. Egg production is strongly linked to demand trends. Rising health consciousness will contribute to an increase in egg consumption among Australians, with stronger sales at the supermarket and grocery store level set to be an important driver of egg sales. Australians' appetite for eggs keeps climbing. AustraliaEggs reports that per-capita consumption sits at 266 eggs in 2023-24 (an 8.13% increase since 2020) and a population growing 1.7 % according to ABS, which is expected to remain growing into 2025-26 is set to underpin demand for eggs. Additionally, eggs remain the most affordable animal protein at a time when beef, lamb and dairy prices are rising and real disposable income is forecast to improve, reinforcing the price signal. Following the 2024 avian-influenza culls and tighter biosecurity, farms will restock quickly, with higher production expected in 2025-26. Taken together, these demand-side and cost-side factors explain why egg output, unlike most other livestock products, is forecast to increase in 2025-26.Egg production has increased over the past five years. Strong population growth has boosted total egg consumption, which is encouraging increased production. In addition, per capita consumption of eggs has risen over the period. The rise in per capita consumption is in part due to consumers increasingly purchasing eggs as an alternative source of protein in lieu of meat, which has been the subject of price rises over the past five years.Egg production is changing, with consumers increasingly purchasing free-range and cage-free eggs. Although these varieties are generally more expensive than traditional caged eggs, they are more appealing to people who are concerned about animal welfare. Greater availability of free-range eggs is expected to have contributed to rising per capita expenditure on eggs over the past decade, especially as major supermarkets are phasing out selling caged eggs, with a full phase-out expected by the end of 2025. Egg production has historically been volatile, mostly due to grain price fluctuations and diseases that can force the culling of chickens, like during the 2020 Victorian outbreak of avian influenza and more recently in May 2024, which led to a culling of 500,000 hens in one week. This wiped out a large proportion of the national flock (approximately 10%), hurting egg production in 2024. Larger egg farms are less susceptible to movements in grain prices, as they typically have long-term supply contracts with grain farmers and wholesalers. Grain prices have recently stabilised as global grain production, including in Argentina, has steadied. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts egg production to fall at a compound annual rate of 1.1% over the five years through 2025-26.