The survey shows that the industry was ranked about 3.72 on a "five" scale for trust, with Australian rural industries averaging about 3.42.
This was the third year of the CSIRO survey, and animal welfare remains a central concern for Australian consumers.
Only 58 per cent of participants in this representative sample agreed that egg prices would need to rise for an improvement in welfare to happen, however, indicating that Australians consider welfare improvements to be an issue for farmers and the industry more broadly.
When asked about purchasing decisions, the respondents nominated the egg production system as their their number one factor, but this decreased by six per cent between 2018 and 2020.
The proportion of Australians ranking price as the most important factor in purchasing decisions remained steady at around a quarter of the sample, while those indicating food safety increased from 10 per cent in 2018 to 14 per cent in 2020 (a four per cent increase).
Trust in the industry across all measures has risen an average of four per cent each year from the baseline 2018 national survey, with more than six in 10 Australians in 2020 saying that they trusted the egg industry to act responsibly (64.2 per cent) and do what was right (62.8 per cent).
More than half (57.3 per cent) of the 5008 Australians surveyed in 2020 also said they trusted the industry to act in the best interests of society.
Moreover, average levels of trust (3.72) were higher relative to trust levels across Australia’s rural industries sector overall (3.42).
CSIRO senior research scientist Dr Kieren Moffat said in 2020 the key finding from CSIRO research was that trust and acceptance in the Australian egg industry improved significantly once again, making that a consistent and statistically significant trend over time.
Australian Eggs managing director Rowan McMonnies said the timing of the this year's survey coincided with one of the most challenging times for our country and the world, the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the research, three in four (75.8 per cent) Australians said the COVID-19 pandemic had made them more aware of the importance of food security in Australia, with four in five agreeing that producing eggs for Australia was an essential service (86.2 per cent), and that ‘having a safe, reliable supply of eggs is comforting’ during the pandemic (80.5 per cent).