Egg prices are putting a strain on shoppers, restaurant owners, stores and farmers
PHOENIX - Eggflation is causing egg prices to soar and people are doing their best to deal with it.
Ask anyone at any grocery store, any restaurant and their feathers will get ruffled.
How much have prices really gone up?
By the numbers:
Egg prices are on the rise and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price for a dozen grade A eggs was about $4.15 in December, up from $3.30 in October.
At the grocery store it’s hard to egg-nore and there is nothing to yoke around about.
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According to the Consumer Price Index, egg prices are up a whopping 36.8% compared to this time last year.
Experts say bird flu is one culprit and that it is responsible for the deaths of nearly 20 million egg-laying hens in the last quarter of 2024 according to the Department of Agriculture.
Phoenix consumers can definitely feel the soaring prices cracking into their food budget.
Shoppers had a lot to say about the uptick.
What they're saying:
"They’ve almost tripled in prices."
"I just paid $5.79, where I used to be about a dozen for a dollar."
"Ridiculous! Ridiculous!"
"I just got eggs the other day, an 18 count, and it was $8," said another shopper. "I am buying eggs for me and my three kids. This is crazy."
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So crazy that some people are thinking about grocery store alternatives.
"The cost of eating is triple. So I am going back to Oregon where I can raise my own chickens," said one desperate shopper.
"I was actually making a joke the other day with one of my friends that I might as well just start investing in my own chickens," said another shopper.
Restaurant owner feeling the heat from higher egg prices
The other side:
Chris Purcell, hospitality management partner at Tipsy Egg says the prices are not just impacting shoppers. Stores, farmers and shoppers are feeling the price hike.
"They’ve definitely gone up quite a bit, five times roughly from 2019," said Purcell.
A price increase that he says can sometimes crack into their bottom line.
"The restaurant industry as a whole, we try to absorb as much of those costs as we can before passing it along to the consumer. But at some point you have to pass it along, right? We have to be able to stay in business," he said.
Especially in an industry with such slim margins, and breakfast spots.
Where they tend to have all their eggs in one basket.
"Maybe shopping habits change a little bit," said Purcell. "Behaviors change for consumers at home. In our industry, that’s a little trickier, that requires menu changes and when you're a breakfast concept, you got to have eggs! So we just have to weather the storm," he said.
People were squaking so much about the price of eggs that it’s led to cities like Chandler and Prescott Valley to change backyard chicken coop ordinances.