After hitting an all time high in January, egg prices are falling. In fact, one expert thinks that consumers will be able to buy a dozen for just $1 soon.
“It’s certainly been undergoing a very sharp correction,” said Karyn Rispoli of market research firm Urner Barry. She made the $1 prediction, according to CNBC.
As of Wednesday, wholesale egg prices were at $1.22 a dozen, per Urner Barry data cited by the outlet.
Egg prices have been easing down since February, KYW previously reported. However, Dollar Tree announced last month that it planned to stop selling eggs since they were still expensive. Overall inflation and an avian flu outbreak contributed to rising prices.
Brian Moscogiuri, global trade strategist at supplier Eggs Unlimited quoted by CNBC, said there have not been new cases of the avian flu since December, so supply has rebounded. At the same time, consumer demand is now weak, he added.
According to a Monday “Egg Market News” report from the United States Department of Agriculture, New York egg prices are down 10 cents for larger sizes and 9 cents lower for medium, while California and regional egg prices are down 26 cents for jumbo, 22 to 44.5 cents lower for extra large and large, down 15 to 29.5 cents for medium, and 17 cents lower for small.
“Supplies are moderate to at times heavy,” said the report. “Demand is light to moderate. Market activity is slow.”
Last Friday, the USDA said “wholesale prices for cartoned shell eggs entered the week struggling to hold steady before moving lower through the end of the week.”
As Rispoli noted, the USDA said that consumer demand for shell eggs declined in the post-Easter week, falling to its lowest level since the 2019 Easter season.
“Shoppers saw few deals on shell egg purchases for holiday celebrations at their local grocers but that may not have limited their buying for holiday traditions,” the department said. “Grocery retailers offered very limited holiday promotional incentives, relying on holiday demand to move shell eggs rather than offering price reductions.”
Now, at the end of the month, the USDA said that retailers are “reluctant to incentivize additional buying.”
Last month average consumers paid around $3.45 for a dozen large, Grade A eggs, per federal data cited by CNBC.
“That’s down from a record $4.82 in January but up from $2.05 a year earlier,” said the outlet. Like Rispoli, Moscogiuri expects prices to come down soon.
“All of a sudden, you might have eggs at a dollar or $1.69 [a dozen] again,” he said. However, CNBC noted that some egg sellers may keep prices higher in order to recoup losses.
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