Summary
Egg prices in the U.S. have reached a record high of $4.95 per dozen amid a severe bird flu outbreak that has led to the culling of millions of egg-laying chickens.
The shortage is compounded by rising feed, fuel, and labor costs, as well as increased demand and stricter cage-free regulations in several states.
Consumers face empty shelves, surcharges, and limited availability, with some areas pricing cartons at $10 or more.
Prices are expected to continue rising, especially with Easter demand.
USDA’s puts them at $7.74/dozen based on futures and project to get to nearly $10 this year. Given eggs can often be loss leaders, actual prices might not match contract prices everywhere, but stores trying to bring in customers and increasing other prices to compensate means looking directly at consumer egg prices might be misleading.
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/eggs-us
Interesting, I have already seen them for $10.48 a dozen
Yeah, local prices can very a lot. My local prices are pretty similar to the ones in this article. But some places have been over $10/dozen for some time.
I will say I am in a rural area, and am within a state of the largest poultry production. These numbers are insane for that, and makes me think this is being incorrectly reported somehow.
Hardly.
Curious when that cost is based on. Given future contracts are often purchased in advanced, those prices could reflect prices from months ago, when the wholesale market price was 1/3rd of the current price. Guess still not technically a loss leader if they price current inventory based on what they are paying for future inventory though.