Consumers: To Buy or Not to Buy
If you’ve gone shopping at your local grocery store recently, you’ve most likely browsed the egg aisle – and seen the astronomically high prices. Last week when I went shopping in College Station at my local HEB, I bought a half dozen eggs for $4.39 plus tax. These were brown, medium, free range eggs. And they were the cheapest option on the shelf. Imagine my surprise when the normally expensive free range, farm raised eggs were cheaper than their counterpart: the white, mass produced, caged raised eggs. The white, large eggs were selling for around $7 to $9 per dozen!
The Price of a Dozen Eggs
The price for eggs has skyrocketed. Using the consumer price index – an inflation measure – the egg prices of December 2021 and December 2022 can be properly compared, showcasing a 60% increase in pricing. 60% in a year!
The rise in pricing has been gradually climbing due to the higher feed prices, the cost of grain, and rising transportation costs: fuel, labor, and packaging. Then add the “worst outbreak of avian flu ever” into the mix? (Brian Earnest, CoBank)
The average cost of a dozen, Grade A, Large eggs in the United States for the month of December in 2022 was $4.25 (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). In some stores, it is cheaper to buy the organic, farm raised option instead of the white, large eggs.
Restaurants: To Raise or Not to Raise
Eggflation is causing some restaurants to take a hit. Due to the rising egg prices, some restaurants have increased their menu prices to better reflect the cost of eggs. This has led to a change in customer habits – they buy the same egg dishes but not as frequently. The loss of business has led restaurant owners floundering to make up the cost. And if the restaurants don’t raise the prices on their egg dishes so the clientele is not affected, they are hemorrhaging money on those dishes with no real way to make up the loss.
Public Opinion over the Egg Debacle
The high price for eggs has been noted by many and has become a running joke on Social Media, many videos going viral.
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Egg Dealers attempting Egg Smuggling
But while the memes make a joke out of the dramatic rise in prices, Eggflation is having real impact. It has led to a decrease in egg sales – consumers buy less to make up for the steeper prices – as well as an increase of smuggling at the US-Mexico border. What contraband is being smuggled? Eggs.
As of 2012, it is illegal to bring raw eggs into the United States for fear of further spread of avian flu. First time offenders will normally be faced with a $300 fine, but the fine can be up to $10,000.
And yet the illusive act of smuggling eggs is too tempting for some… From October 1 to December 31, the number of egg and poultry seizures rose by 108%, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. And within the past month, a 300% increase was recorded. The $3.40 price tag for 30 eggs seen in Juárez, Mexico (according to NPR) is much more appealing to people than the luxury prices they are seeing stateside.
The Future of Eggflation
These prices are current, and many economists believe it is likely to last in the future, especially with the threat of potential avian outbreaks. Although, due to the fall in egg pricing after the holidays, some economists predict a further decline in egg pricing. But there is the Easter holiday to account for…
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/22/us/mexico-border-egg-smuggling-trnd/index.html
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000708111
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-causing-the-price-of-eggs-to-skyrocket-nationwide
https://remezcla.com/food/egg-smuggling-at-u-s-mexico-border-on-rise-heres-why-thats-a-problem/