BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — If you eat eggs then you probably know you are now paying historic prices. The cost of eggs has doubled since November prices and it’s a nearly 60-percent hike from a year ago.
And depending on where you shop or what brand you buy, you could be paying between $5.00 to $6.00 or even $7.00 dollars for a carton of eggs.
“I think it's ridiculous. I mean — they've got to be golden chickens or something — it's too expensive” declared Cheryl Fabbino, employee, Guercio & Sons.
At Guercio's on Grant Street on Buffalo’s west side their jumbo eggs are at $6.09, but the store says it expects the prices will start trending down.
“You know when you're talking like $6, $7, $8 for a dozen eggs — that's a lot,” Fabbino remarked.
The high cost of frying up eggs at The Howling Rooster in a Town of Tonawanda. The owner says she’s has experienced a 500% increase in egg prices. @WKBW #eggs pic.twitter.com/vJdEMrOygS
— Eileen Buckley (@eileenwkbw) January 13, 2023
“Something that was a very profitable item for us that allowed us to keep our prices competitive — it's like they've taken it away and that's huge,” responded Caren Paterniti, owner, The Howling Rooster.
Soaring egg prices are hitting the bottom line of breakfast profitability at The Howling Rooster restaurant on Englewood Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda.
Paterniti tells me egg prices for her are now up by 500 percent.
“We started off at $20 a case, now I think we hit an all-time high of $90. They're kind of sliding back down a little bit, but it's definitely killing us because we don't just serve eggs. we use them in a lot of the recipes also,” explained Paterniti.
“How many eggs do you go through here at the restaurant?” Buckley asked. “Oh, my goodness — over gosh — probably 12 cases a week. We can run through five of them on a Sunday alone,” replied Paterniti.
One of the biggest reasons for high egg prices is the bird flu affecting about 57 million chickens.
A statement I received from the American Egg Board noted egg farmers can't usually set the price of eggs and along with the bird flu, "several factors" including inflation, supply chain issues, cost of feed, grain, labor, diesel, and shipping are also affecting egg farms.
“Affordable food matters to everyone, and as one of the highest-quality proteins available, eggs remain a great value. While egg farmers can’t usually set the price of eggs, they’re doing everything they can to keep costs down and maintain a steady supply of the nutritious eggs Americans count on. Prices reflect several factors beyond a farmer’s control, including inflation and supply chain challenges related to cost and availability of feed and grain, labor, diesel fuel and shipping.
In addition, intermittent supply disruptions due to bird flu, which has affected egg farms in several states, as well as commercial broiler and turkey farms, have had temporary impacts on commodity pricing. Eggs farms maintain stringent biosecurity to protect their hens and ensure they can meet customer demand, but sporadic supply disruptions do impact prices.
The good news is that egg farms are recovering quickly. In fact, most of the egg farms that were affected by HPAI this year have recovered and are back to producing eggs. Nationwide, according to USDA, we have approximately 6% fewer hens laying eggs right now than we might normally, so egg farms are recovering quickly, but we’re not all the way back yet.
Egg farmers have been working closely with each other and their customers to ensure everyone has the eggs they need. With more than 300 million egglaying chickens in this country—almost one bird for every American—isolated shortages are being swiftly corrected. While no one can predict the future, eggs sales have remained strong even with temporary price increases. People love eggs, and as one of the highest-quality protein sources available, consumers know eggs are still a good value.”
American Egg Board (AEB)
For now, at The Howling Rooster, the owner and staff work to find the lowest egg prices through three different providers.
“The executive manager and the chef are very watchful as they compare prices with the three of them and with the best prices because all three of the purveyors are very good,” noted Paterniti.
