Bird flu spikes egg prices; some hit $3 a dozen

Patt Johnson, The Des Moines Register, and Becca Smouse, USA TODAY

Egg prices have tripled at some supermarkets because of bird flu, bedeviling consumers, restaurants and others as they scramble for solutions.

So far, shoppers aren't seeing shortages, grocers said.

Before bird flu pummeled the Midwest, a carton of 12 extra-large eggs had been selling for 99 cents. Now those eggs are selling "in the $3 range," said Aaron Irlbeck, vice president of wholesale purchasing at Fareway Stores. The Boone, Iowa-based grocer has 110 stores in five states: Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

"We haven't had trouble with supply because the high prices are keeping demand down," Irlbeck said.

That's true in many places around the country. With a carton of jumbo eggs at $3.29 last week, up 80 cents from May at Canino Produce in Houston, some consumers are putting eggs on the luxury list.

"That's one of the reasons why I'm not buying as many as I was," said shopper Kathy Hinkle of Houston.

Across the USA, regional wholesale prices, the cost to a warehouse, are 3 to 23 cents higher per dozen, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's egg market report released Monday. Supply is moderate and demand is light.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which gathers retail egg prices as part of its market basket in compiling the Consumer Price Index, has released data only up to April when a dozen eggs averaged $2.07 in stores.

Farms across the nation support 300 million hens in the industry with more than 35 million dead in the flu outbreak, according to Chief Executive Chad Gregory of United Egg Producers, a nationwide cooperative.

"This is by far the worst we've ever seen it," Gregory said.

The outbreak has cost farmers roughly 12% of the national flock, according to a study from Iowa State University's Egg Industry Center. This marks the worst outbreak since 1983.

Hy-Vee, which has 235 stores in eight states — Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin — said it has seen a few delays on larger-sized eggs but no significant shortages.

"Looking ahead to the coming weeks, we're hopeful that we'll continue to receive our regular supply of eggs," the company said in a release. Hy-Vee's egg suppliers have asked the grocery chain and other retailers to stop running egg promotions, which Hy-Vee agreed to do.

Hy-Vee won't stockpile eggs to maintain supplies because of the product's shelf life, the company said. Egg prices started to inch up in April.

"I really started noticing the prices going up about two weeks ago," said Susan Walters of Prattville, Ala., who has been making cookies and cakes for graduation presents and parties. "With two teenage boys and me being a baker, we use a lot of eggs."

Ben Partridge, marketing coordinator for New Pioneer Food Co-op, which has three stores in Iowa, said bird flu has not affected the cooperative's supply or prices though it's something stores are bracing for.

The co-op stocks cage-free eggs from Cedar Ridge Farm in Elgin, Iowa; Farmer's Henhouse in Kalona, Iowa; and Marvin Hotz, a farmer near Iowa City, along with a specialty product from Texas. The eggs sell between $2.99 and $3.99, which has remained unchanged in the wake of the bird flu, Partridge said.

"We haven't necessarily seen anything change on our shelves for the consumer," Partridge said. However, the price for eggs in the co-op's offsite production kitchen has increased.

That's because the wholesale price of eggs sold in liquid form has more than doubled from 63 cents per dozen equivalent to more than $1.50.

"Prices have risen for eggs, but prices have risen more for egg products, " said David Harley, poultry analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Restaurants and commercial operations that use on eggs, such bakers and pasta makers, are feeling the price pressure, Harley said. San Antonio-based Whataburger chain reduced its weekday breakfast hours to curb egg demand.

In California, the bird flu comes as a new law has gone into effect requiring more space in hen coops, which also may be contributing to higher prices.

Nickel Diner, a popular breakfast spot in Los Angeles, added a $1 surcharge to egg dishes to cope with egg prices that have doubled since January.

"In this day in age when we are trying to keep food affordable, it's making it tough," co-owner Kristen Trattner said.

However, some said egg prices aren't playing a big role yet. Breakfast and lunch spot Ncounter in Tempe, Ariz., goes through up to 5,000 eggs a week.

"It potentially could have an impact, but as of right now we aren't feeling it," general manager Daniel Grover said.

Yet many consumers will be hard pressed to find a big bargain on eggs in the coming weeks.

"I think it's now safe to say that some consumers are going to see higher prices," said Maro Ibarburu, associate scientist and business analyst at Iowa State University in Ames.

Contributing: Lauren Talarico, KHOU-TV, Houston; Marty Roney, The Montgomery Advertiser; Josh O'Leary, Iowa City (Iowa) Press-Citizen. Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY