High price of eggs looks to be hanging around for a while yet

We’ve seen prices on almost all groceries going higher over the last few months, but eggs have surpassed almost all other items with their rate of price increases. This is due in a large part because of avian flu that’s affected chickens around the country. The situation has impacted egg laying flocks in the U.S., forcing egg suppliers to cut production and in turn causing shortages nationwide, skyrocketing prices.

In California, prices have been seen over $9.00 per dozen. While not quite that high, here in the Fond du Lac area, many grocery stores have their prices set just above $5.00 a dozen. No one is feeling the hit of the price increase more than restaurants who base their profits largely on breakfast meals.

Here in Fond du Lac, Sandy Ritchie, owner of Downtown’s The Diner, says she doesn’t want to have to raise menu prices, but doesn’t know how much longer she can endure current prices without doing something.

Ritchie points out that she’s taking a hit of more than $1400 per month for each month she doesn’t raise prices while prices of eggs are this high. For the time being, she’ll continue to take the cut in income in her own pocket, hoping other menu item profit margins will help fill in the void.

With avian flu outbreaks ongoing, significant price drops are not expected in the near future. The extent of price relief will depend on how quickly producers can rebuild their flocks and manage the bird flu situation.