Unraveling the Truth: Why Egg Prices Are Skyrocketing Beyond Bird Flu

The calls, texts, and emails begin pouring in at dawn. Restaurants, bakeries, and other businesses desperately seek eggs.

Meet Brian Moscogiuri, an egg broker and vice president of Eggs Unlimited, a wholesale company. He takes calls from his home office in Toms River, New Jersey, sometimes working late into the night to connect buyers with farms that have eggs available.

However, things have changed recently. Due to an outbreak of avian influenza, there are egg shortages and prices have skyrocketed. The wholesale cost now averages over $8 a dozen, compared to just $2.25 last fall. For Moscogiuri, this means less matchmaking and more listening to worried buyers. “The buyers are struggling,” he shares. “They’re facing prices three or four times what they normally pay.”

Egg producers are feeling the pressure too, especially smaller, family-owned farms. If even one hen tests positive for the H5N1 virus, the entire flock may need to be culled to stop the virus from spreading. “One morning could mean the end of their business,” Moscogiuri explains.

Amidst this crisis, there is a silver lining: larger egg producers are seeing some gains. The landscape of the egg market might be changing, but the challenge for everyone involved remains significant.

Source link

Prices (Fares, Fees and Rates),Antitrust Laws and Competition Issues,Avian Influenza,Agriculture and Farming,Warren, Elizabeth,Ferguson, Andrew N,Cal Maine Foods Inc,United Egg Producers,Hillandale Farms,Rose Acre Farms Inc,Federal Trade Commission,Walmart Stores Inc,Bedoya, Alvaro