EGG WAR TAKES TOLL
A SUPERMARKET discounting war is hurting genuine free-range operators, Geelong region egg producers say.
Until recently, free-range eggs were selling for $5.50 to $6.50 a 600g dozen.
But German giant Aldi has smashed the price down to $3.69, while Coles and Woolworths are pushing their home brand free-range egg prices to a new low of $3.80 a dozen.
The free-range discounting has, in turn, pushed caged-egg prices down to $3 a dozen.
Kossies Free Range Eggs proprietor Julie Kos said many supermarkets had taken a slapdash attitude to the free-range branding.
“We pride ourselves on being truly free range, ensuring that our birds have room to move and aren’t cooped up,” Mrs Kos said.
“At $4 or $3 a dozen, you can’t be sure they are truly free range. It’s well below the cost of production. It’s like what supermarkets have done to the dairy industry — the costs just don’t stack up.”
The Federal Government in April altered the Free Range Egg Labelling Information Standard, which now allows manufacturers to pack 10,000 hens per hectare — several times higher than the CSIRO’s model code of practice.
“That 10,000 birds per hectare is nowhere near free range, yet shoppers think they’re doing the right thing because it says so on the packet,” Mrs Kos said.
“We stock at 750 birds per hectare. It allows for free movement and keeps soil quality high.”
Egg Farmers Australia chief executive John Dunn said the discounting war would drain money out of the industry at a time when it was under pressure from the supermarkets, some state governments and consumers to abandon caged-egg production and move to free range.
“The industry will have no ability to make that move,” Mr Dunn said.
Caged and free-range egg producer Brian Ahmed said the supermarket campaign would force smaller free-range farmers out of the industry.
“It simply costs more to produce free-range eggs, given you’ve got higher mortality and lower production,” Mr Ahmed said.
The Victorian Farmers Federation slammed the egg discounting, saying it was a repeat of the $1-a-litre milk campaign and would squeeze farmers’ profit margins and damage the long-term viability of the egg industry.
“It’s happened in dairy with $1 milk, it happens routinely in the fruit and vegetable industry, and now it’s happening with egg products,” VFF egg president Tony Nesci said.
“We know from experience that once a supermarket cuts its prices and gets stuck into a price war, the farmer will be the loser.”
“We know from experience that once a supermarket cuts its prices and gets stuck into a price war, the farmer will be the loser.” VICTORIAN FARMERS FEDERATION EGG PRESIDENT TONY NESCI