Australian Egg Industry Overview

The egg industry is made up of a diverse range of businesses, from large vertically integrated farms that control rearing, production, grading, packing and transportation, to very small-scale farms that sell to local markets.

Australians consume 18.9 million eggs every day and farmers work around the clock to supply a range of eggs and egg products to suit everyone. Find out more about Australia's growing egg industry below.

Key Statistics

How many eggs are consumed each year in Australia? Per capita, egg consumption was 259 eggs in 2024-25 financial year, from 266 eggs in the 2023-2024 financial year. With an average egg weighing 58 grams, this equals 15 kilograms of egg per person, per year.

How many eggs are produced each year in Australia? In the 2024-25 financial year, Australian egg farmers produced 6.87 billion eggs or 573.1 million dozen eggs.

Where are eggs produced in Australia and who are our top egg-producing states? In the 2024-255 financial year, New South Wales produced 34% of Australia's eggs with Queensland (24.8%) & Victoria (26.0%) not far behind.

How many hens are there in Australia's egg industry? In June 2025, Australia's egg industry reported a national flock size of 24,890,517 layers.

What farming systems are used to produce eggs in Australia? There are three main egg farming systems used in Australia: free range, cage and barn-laid. Free range egg production has grown significantly over the last 15 years and now makes up 56.6% of all grocery retail sales. However, there remains strong demand for cage and barn-laid eggs as an affordable source of high-quality protein.

Egg production

	Eggs Produced	Dozens Produced
2024-25 FY	6.87 billion eggs	573.1 millions dozen
2023-24 FY	6.98 billion eggs	581.8 million dozen
2022-23 FY	6.68 billion eggs	554.7 million dozen
2021-22 FY	6.6 billion eggs	552.7 million dozen
2020-21 FY	6.3 billion eggs	525.2 million dozen
2019-20 FY	6.08 billion eggs	507.39 million dozen
2018-19 FY	6.22 billion eggs	518.1 million dozen
2017-18 FY	6.18 billion eggs	515.7 million dozen
2016-17 FY	5.51 billion eggs	459.2 million dozen

Egg consumption per capita

Year	Eggs Consumed
2024-25 FY	259 eggs per person, per year
2023-24 FY	266 eggs per person, per year
2022-23 FY	263 eggs per person, per year
2021-22 FY	262 eggs per person, per year
2020-21 FY	249 eggs per person, per year
2019-20 FY	246 eggs per person, per year
2018-19 FY	247 eggs per person, per year
2017-18 FY	245 eggs per person, per year
2016-17 FY	231 eggs per person, per year
2015-16 FY	226 eggs per person, per year
2014-15 FY	221 eggs per person, per year

Major supermarket egg sales 

 

Year	Sales Volume	Sales Value
2024-25 FY	248.02 million dozen	$1,576.2 million
2023-24 FY	247.99 million dozen	$1,370.1 million
2022-23 FY	237.7 million dozen	$1,194.7 million
2021-22 FY	226.57 million dozen	$1,068.4 million
2020-21 FY	242.45 million dozen	$1,107.8 million
2019-20 FY	252.31 million dozen	$1,112.8 million
2018-19 FY	230.8 million dozen	$961.3 million
2017-18 FY	229.7 million dozen	$940.6 million
2016-17 FY	218.4 million dozen	$930 million
2015-16 FY	207.6 million dozen	$880.8 million
2014-15 FY	194.2 million dozen	$846.1 million

Supermarket Sales By Farming System

2024-25 FY.

Farming System	Sales Volume	Sales Value
Free range	56.6%	61.1%
Cage	13.3%	10.8%
Barn-laid	27.7%	24.0%
Speciality	2.4%	4.2%

Flock Size

As at June 2025.

Layers and pullets	Layers
34,113,264	24,890,517

State flock percentages 

2024-25 FY.

State Flock Percentages	Proportion
New South Wales/ACT	34.1%
Victoria	26.0%
Queensland	24.8%
Western Australia	9.1%
South Australia	5.0%
Tasmania	1.0%

Australian Eggs is a member-owned not-for-profit company providing marketing and research & development (R&D) services for the benefit of Australian egg farmers. To find out more about the Australian egg industry view our most recent annual report here