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New Zealand egg shortage threatens pavlova

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New Zealand is experiencing a nationwide egg shortage that is driving up wholesale prices and putting its popular dessert, pavlova, at risk.

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Supermarket shelves are empty and some stores are putting limits on the number of eggs customers can buy.

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The shortage is caused by a government ban on battery-caged hens that came into effect this month, which has squeezed supplies and driven up costs.

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Michael Books, executive director of the country's Egg Producers Federation, says there now aren't enough hens in New Zealand to meet demand.

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Kylie Harvey, a baker who owns Khaos Cakery, is having trouble getting enough eggs for her creations and can't make pavlova, a popular dish that requires egg whites.

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The Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand says more than 75% of its members have had to change their farming methods or leave the industry since 2012 when the government announced its intentions to ban eggs from battery-caged hens.

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Battery cages, which are considered cruel to chickens, are banned in most of Europe and other countries like Mexico, Israel, and Canada, and Australia is phasing them out by 2036

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Mr Books says many farmers shifted to "colony" egg production, which gives birds bigger cages but in 2019, the two supermarket chains announced they would no longer sell eggs from colony cage system from 2025/2026, leaving farmers in disarray.

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New Zealand's producers have also been hit by the rising feed prices due to the war in Ukraine, and diseases that have reduced the bird population.