Egg prices take a bite out of budgets for CSRA shoppers, businesses

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Record-high egg prices have consumers and businesses scrambling for solutions and substitutes.

A bird flu outbreak forced farmers to cull more than 40 million egg-laying birds in 2024, causing a shortage in eggs. And the principal rule of economics is that as supply decreases, prices rise.

That’s what we’re going through right now – and it’s downright eggs-asperating.

Bakeries in the CSRA are really feeling the pain.

Several told us they’re either having to the increased costs to customers or take the hit.

And many people are ordering cakes, cookies and all kinds of desserts this week because of Valentine’s Day.

It’s not always about the cost.

Some bakeries are running up against limits on how many eggs their suppliers are letting them buy.

“Eggs have hit the hardest with a nearly 50% increase and the stores are limiting purchases, so we’re now having to make multiple trips to the grocery stores in a week,” said Kelsie Mellott, owner of Hey Honey! Cakery.

The price increase is also causing longer days.

“Someone’s having to leave the store and it’s really putting a dent in the work process here. You know because they could be working on the production of cake orders and baking. And if somebody has to run and grab eggs, then all of a sudden our baker is behind,” said Mellott.

Although eggs aren’t the only ingredient that costs more – it’s also cocoa powder and butter – eggs are what everyone’s noticing right now.

The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs reached $4.95 in January, eclipsing the previous record of $4.82 set two years earlier and more than double the recent low of $2.04 in August 2023. Specialized varieties are even more expensive.

But local bakeries say it’s worth it and important to have those ingredients even if they’re more expensive.

“We bake everything from scratch and we’re really proud of that,” said Mellott.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM

Bird flu: Entire flocks are slaughtered

1. The main reason eggs are more expensive is the bird flu outbreak. When the virus is found on a farm, the entire flock is killed to limit the spread of disease. Because massive egg farms may have millions of birds, just one outbreak may put a dent in the egg supply.
2. The Agriculture Department says more than 23 million birds were slaughtered last month and more than 18 million were killed in December to limit the spread of the virus. Those numbers include turkeys and chickens raised for meat, but the vast majority of them were egg-laying chickens.
3. The good news is the bird flu seems to have slowed down in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Agriculture on Monday lifted a statewide ban on poultry exhibitions, shows and sales of live birds that had been put in place after the virus was found in a northeast Georgia commercial flock. Two parts of Elbert County will remain under quarantine.

They’re absorbing the extra cost for as long as possible.

“We don’t want to deter any customers from coming in. Being a scratch-based bakery, it’s expensive as it is and to raise the prices, I don’t feel like we can handle that. And potentially lose the added business if we did do a price increase,” she said.

Prices are only going to get worse, with Easter usually bringing the yearly peak.

Amid the crisis, some popular restaurant chains such as Waffle House recently announced a surcharge of 50 cents per egg.

And a viral video on TikTok shows shoppers hoarding eggs like they did toilet paper in 2020.

The bird flu could keep prices high for a few months.

“If we can get the supply of hens back up, so we’re back up to where we were before the bird flu actually hit ... but to do that, the bird flu’s got to be gotten rid of, and so the first step is to try to rid the flu out of the population,” said Wes Clark, an economics professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. “Hopefully by summer or after, we can make the turn.”

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