Ruffled feathers: is the power imbalance in Australia’s chicken industry making shortages worse?

The industry association NSW Farmers is concerned the dominance of two chicken processing plants makes the supply chain vulnerable to disruption. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The domination of the chicken processing industry by a few large players has contributed to the shortages in supermarkets across Australia, farmers and industry representatives say.

But that claim is rejected by chicken processors, who say the current supply chain crisis is “unprecedented” and not related to the number of processors or the structure of the industry.