The price of eggs

[JeanneCake]

I got a delivery today - extra large eggs from a local (MA-based) distributor were $3.98/dz and the large eggs were $3.89/dz.  Heavy cream, on the other  hand is $65/case of 12 quarts (Hood brand for any of the locals who want to know).  another distributor wants $110 for the same case!   On a local Bakery Owners FB page, someone was asking if EggBeaters could be used in baking recipes and I don't know what EggBeaters are to know why they'd be any cheaper than shell eggs?

[FeChef]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

If there is any bright side to this, at least for North America, then it is that the eggs we are getting ought to be very fresh. 

I still think that most eggs are a bargain but price comparisons mean nothing if you don’t know how the chickens are housed/raised. 

The only bright side i see is, im more inclined to hit up a TSC and buy chicks, and raise my own hen's that lay eggs.

[Tropicalsenior]

I'm paying about $3.50 USD here in Costa Rica, and I thought I was having to pay a lot. I don't know for sure but I would suspect that most of these are from caged hens. If I can, I try to buy from a vendor at the Farmers Market that I have known for years and his chickens are all free range. His eggs are always larger and fresher and cost about $3 a dozen.

[gulfporter]

Eggs here sold by weight at most places, but the organic farms sell their eggs by the dozen. 

 

I paid 52 pesos for a dozen brown organic yesterday; they were uniformly large size.  About 2.75 USD. 

 

My guess is they are considerably less at local fruterías when sold by kilo.  Eggs are not graded here by size; you just go through the large cartons on display and pick the ones you want.  Eggs are not refrigerated here.  

[weinoo]

Quote

 

Can You Find Eggs Here or There? Can You Find Them Anywhere?

 

An avian flu outbreak and increasing costs of fuel, feed and packaging have contributed to an egg supply shortage and high prices in some parts of the country.

 

 

The Times is on it.

[rotuts]

Oddly , generic Large white this AM @ TJ's 

 

were 3,49.  a week ago # Marketbasket :  3.99

 

MB has always been cheaper than TJ's

 

on the brighter side , both places had full shelves 

 

of all varieties.

[chromedome]

This could have gone in Food Funnies, but it seemed appropriate to this thread as well. From Canada's equivalent of The Onion:

https://t.co/8EKBx4u249

 

[chromedome]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/as-egg-prices-soar-the-bloodiest-bird-flu-outbreak-in-us-history-drags-on/

[Tropicalsenior]

16 minutes ago, chromedome said:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/as-egg-prices-soar-the-bloodiest-bird-flu-outbreak-in-us-history-drags-on/

Damn! Now I'm going to have to pay more for my mink coats.

[Anna N]

Just think how many foods rely on eggs! Pretty soon a bottle of Hellmann's might be worth at least one mink coat. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Anna N
To change worse to worth! (log)

[lemniscate]

I needed to make homemade egg noodles by request for a family member, and the egg shortage was in my mind.  What a strange thing to worry about, eh?    But here we are....................

 

[Katie Meadow]

6 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Damn! Now I'm going to have to pay more for my mink coats.

Those poor minks can't win for losing. 

[blue_dolphin]

Checked out the egg selection at TJs this morning. $2.99 - 3.99/dz. Plenty of options.  Sign posted: “limit 2 dozen”

[Alex]

Sorry, but avian flu is not the reason. And collusion is nothing new among the major egg producers.

 

Quote

Egg prices more than doubled for consumers last year — going from $1.788 in December 2021 to $4.250 in December 2022 for a dozen large Grade A eggs. Industry-aligned consultants and leading egg producers have blamed this dramatic increase on “supply disruption, ‘act of God’ type stuff.” As we detail below, however, the real culprit behind this 138 percent hike in the price of a carton of eggs appears to be a collusive scheme among industry leaders to turn inflationary conditions and an avian flu outbreak into an opportunity to extract egregious profits reaching as high as 40 percent.

 

[Anna N]

45 minutes ago, Alex said:

Sorry, but avian flu is not the reason. And collusion is nothing new among the major egg producers.

Shall we assume then that this applies to Canada, New Zealand, UK..........?

[blue_dolphin]

Checked out the egg section at TJ's yesterday.  Prices were $2.99 - 3.99/dozen.  Stocking was a little sparse but there were still plenty there.  The "Limit 2 dozen/person" sign that's been posted since December was still in place. 

[Tropicalsenior]

14 minutes ago, Anna N said:

Shall we assume then that this applies to Canada, New Zealand, UK..........?

Sometimes I think it's just a case of monkey see, monkey do. We have no cases of avian flu in Costa Rica but egg prices here are rising exponentially.

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Alex said:

Sorry, but avian flu is not the reason. And collusion is nothing new among the major egg producers.

 

And this surprises anyone...why?

 

All one has to do is look at the profits of a cartel like Cal-Maine.

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

And this surprises anyone...why?

 

All one has to do is look at the profits of a cartel like Cal-Maine.

I think avian flu and collusion are both simplistic answers to a complex phenomenon.

[rotuts]

times do change ..

 

not that many years ago 

 

back then ,   there was a significant bump in E.P,'s

 

bird flu.    it lasted as long as it lasted 

 

and egg prices came down to what they were before.

 

no idea who long that was 

 

or how long egg prices ( under current economics ) have been up

 

now.

 

however , corporations , both large and small

 

very much have their eye on ' opportunities '  

 

when they present themselves.

 

Im wondering if ( all factors factored ) 

 

volume is down enough to affect ' egg profit '

 

and Im sure volume is not linear plotted for price 

 

 

[MaryIsobel]

There are plenty of egg here in Playa del Carmen. I just bought a dozen large eggs "libre de juala" - cage free for 38 pesos which is about 2.70 Canadian or 2.02 US.

[rotuts]

the nuance for me

 

apologies if mentioned before 

 

Market Basket brand eggs were always cheaper

 

that TJ's ' bottom shelf - White Large 

 

this event out a bit w the cage free law ,  possibly Tj's only sod cage free ?

 

however  3.45 Tj's  are 3.99  Market Basket

 

Market Basket is not the type of store to tack on  50 cents

 

sold for profit . they would try to find the 3.45 supplier

 

MB's orders might be much higher than Tj's

 

and the supplier knowing this , smiles and says take it or leave it.

 

this comes from each emporiums supply-er

Edited January 26, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[heidih]

Price Fixing has been around for a long time - why the FTC tries but alot is "secret" verbal. Main carpet install companies did it for some time in L.A.  Took turns letting one go low on major projects so as not to be obvious.  The mills may have kniown but they are sole source so...  And then their are the specifiers the mills have inpocket...https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/dealings-competitors/price-fixing So is the egg thng really shocking?

 

I asked my favorite cashier who has farm animals if she has hens. She said when this cold her hens take a break. So many factors. 

 

When California went cage free only and there was  a significant price hike it seemed consumers voted with their wallets and the big blip settled down. May happen again.

Edited January 26, 2023 by heidih (log)

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

I think avian flu and collusion are both simplistic answers to a complex phenomenon.

 

Actually, I think the opposite...simply called gouging.

[Tropicalsenior]

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the store today to buy eggs. Contrary to all the news about egg prices rising, they had actually gone down a little. I paid the equivalent of $3.20 a dozen.

This is how we buy our eggs in Costa Rica

They are technically priced by the kilo but sell by 15 or 30 at a fixed price.

If you buy them in a butcher shop or at the Farmers Market, most of the time they weigh them.