Wholesale prices of eggs may have finally begun to drop after cracking open the wallets of business owners and consumers since mid-December last year when they began to rise rapidly in cost, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Egg Markets Overview.”
Wholesale prices of eggs have decreased by almost half in just the past few weeks, thanks to a decrease in the number of reported bird flu cases so far in March and a decrease in customer demand.
“Negotiated wholesale prices for graded loose eggs continued on a sharp downward trajectory as no significant outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been reported in March to date and the supply situation is rapidly improving,” the USDA reported. Experts aren’t sure, though, when consumers will notice that decrease in grocery stores.
The Consumer Price Index for eggs rose 10.4% from January to February, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, leaving shoppers and local businesses scrambling for cheaper alternatives. March numbers have not yet been released.
The Clark Park Farmers Market in West Philadelphia, just off the University City campus, is held every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and serves as a hub for small businesses and farmers to set up shop for Philadelphia locals. Three stands, two of which are local farms, set up every weekend and provide fresh eggs — with prices ranging from $6.99 to $9.99 for a dozen eggs.
For small business owners selling at the market, like Pamela Thornton, owner of Pound Cake Heaven, a local bakery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, the increase in egg prices isn’t just an inconvenience but a threat to business. Thornton said it’s been hard to put so much money into such a basic necessity.
“It’s really hurting us right now,” Thornton said. “A lot of our profit is going towards the eggs. If it keeps going like it’s going, I’m going to have to go up [in prices], and I really don’t want to do it.”
Sienna Saint, a Philly local who regularly shops at the Clark Park market, said that while she tries normally to buy local, it can be hard to justify the cost these days.
“Today [March 15], I bought the half-off eggs, the discounted eggs, because they’re cracked,” Saint said. “It’s just what I have to do right now because I need eggs.”
For locals like Mark Mendenhall, who has been shopping at the market for the past 10 years, the price increase is worth it considering the quality of the eggs sold and the lengths farmers have had to go to recently.
“The farmers here, whatever they’re asking, I want to give them because I know they work hard,” Mendenhall said. “They deserve every penny.”
Local farmers like Dan Landis, owner of Landisdale Farm in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, are regular sellers at Clark Park. Landis spoke about the effects of his egg cost since the HPAI outbreak and how it is increasingly more expensive to find good flocks for production, which, in turn, raises prices for customers.
“It’s really hard to find birds, laying birds or pullets,” Landis said. “To find them is like, I’m not gonna say it’s like winning the lottery, but it’s hard. I don’t know how many people I had to call until I actually found some birds available. And that’s just a couple hundred birds.”
Landis said that while this pandemic has affected all farmers with chickens, the market should eventually stabilize as the bird flu wave subsides.
“Unfortunately, they’ve had to get rid of a lot of birds, and it takes a while to build the market back up,” Landis said. “It’s not going to happen just like the snap of a finger. It’s going to take a while.”
