Egg Cost Comparison, Why prices are rocketing up and the true protein costs

Why are Egg Prices Going Through the Roof and Pip’s Other Musings…….

Over the last few months there has been lots of discussion about cage egg production been banned at the end of 2022, the raising price of eggs and that impact on the cost-effective availability of protein sources for people.  I have been asked about this lots and I decided I might put my thoughts and musing down for those to read…. I’m not 100% sure of my math in the tables below…. Took a bit to get the cogs turning, but I’m about 98% sure😊…and regardless, if the equations and methodology are uniform, the outcome is still the same!

It has been a huge transition for the Poultry Industry to change production systems from battery cage set ups (10-15 birds/cage, each bird having equivalent of an A4 sheet of paper to live on) into Colony cages (20-60 birds/cage with a perch, laying box and a synthetic scratching pad) or to Barn or Free Range.  Lucky for us, Brian made this choice when he set up in 2007.    In short, this has meant that they can fit less birds/shed so the cost of production will rise.  Added to this the increased 40% cost of building sheds for all production types, as they all need somewhere to sleep and lay, due to COVID and the equipment required to build them.  Most of it comes from offshore, so we add to that a hugely increased sea freight cost, then fuel, labour and time etc.…. like all the other industries, the Poultry area has had a rather large added hurdle.  Personally, I think it’s a good thing especially for the fluffy ladies.  Before I went to uni, I worked in two of these intensive systems…. wow did that open my eyes after coming off a lightly stocked sheep, beef and pine tree farm!

As you know, the ladies don’t live forever, and we need to replace stock and to do this we have to order our birds at least 9 months out from the breeders and the growers.  So, by their calculations or orders, they are expecting there to be approximately 900,000 less birds in lay in January next year. 

I was in the supermarket on Sunday and like always I stop and hover at the egg section to look at the eggs, prices, and quality. (and also ask other egg buyers if they have heard of The Egg Project lol)  What I am seeing is extremely interesting…. Brian said I am not allowed to name any brands or producers etc. and really all this info is at your disposal, you just need to look, but I just thought I would do a comparison for you.  I read somewhere last week that egg prices have increased 17% in the last 12 months.   The table below is what I have worked out, The Egg Project eggs are down the bottom.  The Dozens are what we do into our fundraising groups, and the 20 cell trays are what we deliver to your houses.

Yes, I can hear you asking…. at some stage we are going to have to put our prices up due to all these other costs but for now I can still manage to hold ours. 

What I found extremely interesting is that our Free-Range egg prices are not much more than cage eggs and our organic eggs are $0.20 to $0.50 cents cheaper (per egg) than other organic egg producers, and only 2 of them are Certified Organic like us.  AND you get them delivered to your door, and they are super fresh!  I know all of you already get the picture and are very clever!

So, Brian also said that I need to do a little talking around why people eat eggs…. there are many reasons, but protein is one of the big ones.  Personally, I just like them!  So, Protein….is a source of energy but its main role in the body is growth and repair. Protein is a building block- it helps in the formation of muscles, hair, nails, skin, and organs, such as the heart, kidneys, and liver. We all contain a significant amount of protein. For example, a 76kg man is made up of 12kg of protein (16%).  What this means is we need to eat lots of it.  Below are the recommended daily intakes.

Most of us know what foods contain protein, but what I wanted to do was to create a table that would show you the protein bio availability of certain foods and then show you the cost of that per gram.  I find I need to do this to work it all so I can get my head around it…. So, I need 46 gms of protein per day, if I did that with Steak, it would cost me about $12.00 but to do with chicken, its only about $2.50 or eggs $4.50 – what I am trying to show you that even with the price increase of eggs, it is still one of the cheapest sources of protein and so versatile.  Also, the good thing with eggs, is that 100% of the protein in them is available to your body to uptake and use.  For beef, 80% is available, and kidney beans, only 49% is available.  Eggs are still eggceptional!

So now my head is sore, but I think I have got the picture down of what I wanted to show you all…. thanks so much for taking the time to read this and learning a little more about eggs and proteins and why we need them!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Pip and all the ladies!