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1. What’s going on with eggs?
This is really a supply and demand issue. There are about 300 million chickens laying eggs, but the avian flu has decimated supply by 15 to 20%. This flu is very contagious, and our chicken farmers are scrambling (sorry for the pun)! They put all their workers in hazmat suits and the chickens are “locked down” inside their sheds. It’s like COVID for chickens! When supply goes down, prices go up. We’ve done business with our farmers for 35 years, and they’ve guaranteed we’ll get our normal supply of eggs. Prices have doubled since last year and we’re now at about $10/dozen for conventional. Here’s what I find interesting: why are conventional eggs double the price of specialty eggs (organic, cage-free, pasture-raised)? Specialty eggs have always been more expensive than conventional! It’s an inverted pricing model that I’ve never seen in my lifetime. But, it has to do with commodity pricing, which is different than the specialty egg market. We’ve been able to keep our egg shelves full, but we had to limit four dozen per customer (a restaurant came in and bought 60 dozen!).
What you need to know:
1. No health concerns for you! Even though it’s “the flu,” it doesn’t affect humans.
2. There is not a quick fix. This will last two to six months until our farmers can replenish their supply of baby chicks (it takes 12 weeks to grow to egg layers).
3. We should see egg prices drop in the future. Hang in there. Don’t panic!
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