Rising Egg Prices Are No Yolk – What You need To Know

First it was hand sanitizer, then toilet paper, followed by gas and now the food industry is the target of the latest shortage, and it’s hitting us right where it hurts most- eggs!

Nothing is more basic and fundamental in any household, restaurant or food business than eggs. It’s the essential building block of all that is delicious and delectable. From cakes to pastries and egg rolls, pasta to beef wellington and don’t forget ice cream and of course anything breakfast and brunch related. Eggs are crucial for all of these and more, and, just like with increasing gas prices, if there is an egg shortage and eggs cost more, then everything else will start costing more.

In January 2022 eggs cost on average $2.35 for a dozen in California, in January 2023 those same eggs will now cost you $7.37! That’s a price increase of 214%, or about $5!

Prices around the country are not looking much better, as on average egg prices have jumped up by 49%! This means that the same carton of a dozen eggs that cost you $1.93 in January 2022 ended up costing you $3.59 by November, and ever since the week of Thanksgiving egg prices have been hitting near daily record highs.

So, who, or what, is to blame for the egg-spensive state of eggs these days?

Why The Scramble Over Eggs

A couple of factors are to blame for egg prices going up, with the main driving force being the worse bout of bird flu to ever hit the USA and its egg producing hen population. The current outbreak started in February 2022, and has since killed 43 million egg producing hens out of an estimated 420 million nationwide, and is still ongoing. This high death total is partly due to the fact that if one bird gets infected, farmers are forced to euthanize any remaining chickens to prevent further spread of the disease

To put this epidemic in context, the last major outbreak of avian flu in 2015 was contained shortly after it was discovered, and was under control by June of that year.

Now add in current unfavorable economic conditions, like high fuel prices, skyrocketing inflation raising the costs of labor and chicken feed, as well as the usual higher demand for eggs around the holidays and you have an egg-spensive mix of factors driving up the cost of eggs from all angles.

Even while prices have soared, sales of eggs have only ticked down about 2% in retail up until December 2022. This means that consumers have just been accepting higher prices at the grocery stores and rather been curbing their spending at restaurants. And even though eggs have nearly tripled in price, they are actually still cheaper than any other proteins.

What To Egg-Spect The Rest Of The Year

There is a sunny-side on the horizon! As normal holiday demand starts to decrease there will be a noticeable drop in wholesale prices. A report by CNN stated that wholesale egg prices have remained steady in mid-January 2023 for the first time since October 2022.

Farmers have also been able to recover their egg producing flocks much quicker than they did in 2015, with most farmers having recovered in six months, as opposed to an average of nine months recovery time in 2015.

Suppliers have also reported that their orders of eggs have been slowing down, clearly indicating that market demand is stabilizing after the holiday rush. Experts are predicting that it would take at least another three to six months for prices to moderate in retail, and even longer for prices to come down to what they were last year, as a shortage of eggs is set to continue impacting markets for most of the year.

Egg-Cellent Prices At Your Fingertips

While wholesale retail customers wait with bated breath for the egg shortage to stabilize and for prices to finally start dropping, there are a few tactics you can use to get the best egg prices in 2023.

Firstly, it is more important than ever to shop around for the best prices on not only eggs, but all of your restaurant supply needs, to make sure that you get the best prices possible. Time constraints and limited resources can sometimes make this a lot harder than it seems in the wholesale industry. But luckily there is an easy, friendly and convenient solution to finding the best wholesale egg prices even during an egg shortage.

DineMarket is one of the leading go-to wholesale marketplaces connecting restaurants with local suppliers, and delivering everything from farm fresh produces, meats and diary to janitorial supplies right to your restaurant.

Dine Market is the fast and simple way to connect you to a whole host of suppliers so that you can easily compare prices and save time and money. As a restaurant looking for the best prices in these trying times, Dine Market can help you find the best quality products at the best possible prices by quickly and easily comparing different wholesale suppliers

If you want to find out more and start saving on your food and restaurant supply bills book a free demo with Dine Market today to learn how to improve your purchasing, grow your bottom line, increase your efficiency and gain valuable business insights all from the comfort of your home or office.