Abstract
This paper clarifies the characteristics of the Australian egg market, particularly animal welfare (AW) friendly eggs (i.e. barn, free-range, and organic) and investigates whether an appropriate retail price as per the breeding method was charged (a rise in egg price so that the production method was appropriate for animal welfare). This study elucidated various aspects of market, as follows: The price charged according to the breeding method was non-uniform across the industry. This was related to two factors: First, free range eggs can have various standards; however, this is not reflected with an appropriate price or label. Second, regardless of the breeding method, a large price discrepancy existed between PB and NB eggs, resulting in PB's free range eggs being cheaper than NB's cage eggs. These cheaper PB free-range eggs will contribute to provide for the expansion of the AW friendly egg market. The unresolved problems that were identified include the following: elucidation of the economic background and factors enabling different pricing despite the same breeding method and elucidation of whether egg pricing is justified given average production costs.
