Remember, earlier this year? The egg shortages and price increases? The egg crisis that was plaguing consumers and foodservice sector users, alike? The good news is, the upheaval in the egg sector has quietly subsided…
Nothing muddles Martha
Behold Martha Stewart! (See photo, left; fresh from the chicken coop on her rural New England Farm…) Unshakable, un-beatable, unsinkable Martha! Not even a stint in prison could slow down the le-gendary domestic maven.
And that goes for the US egg crisis that peaked a little earlier this year.
‘State of the Egg’
I was so absorbed by other issues – such as, for instance, the effects the Trump tariffs on the global economy – particularly on North American food prices – that I hadn’t noticed until reminded earlier this week…
Egg prices have subsided significantly – enough so that commercial users have cancelled their egg reduction plans and surcharges, and major retailers have lowered their shelf prices considerably… Egg shortages have also eased to the point where commer-cial users (and many consumers) have stopped rampaging around the supermarkets and the Inter-net trying to find viable substitutes for fresh-cracked eggs.
What’s happened?
The standard bearers for the egg crisis – Denny’s, and Waffle House, along with other (mainly) break-fast restaurants added egg surcharges earlier this year. Denny’s never shared the exact amount of its surcharge, but observers said it was likely about the same as Waffle House’s – (US)$o.50-cents per egg. On May 21, the Denny’s announced that it had removed its additional charge, with Waffle House following on June 2.
Confirmation of the disappearance of the surges corresponded to a sudden drop-off in daily apo-calyptic Avian Flu alerts. But that doesn’t mean the widespread, potentially deadly flu(s) are no longer plaguing the US south-central and southwest countryside.
What it does mean is that there have been fewer egg recalls (or withholdings, before suspect eggs even get anywhere near the market), Also, laying flocks are appear to be building slowly back toward their normal (enormous) sizes.
Prices still high, but…
According to the (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average pan-US cost of a dozen eggs rose to a high of $6.23 back in March. In April, bird flu cases finally began to fall, along with the cost of eggs, which continue to drop. The latest reported official average price is now $3.77 per dozen…
So, take a deep breath, and…
~ Maggie J.