Here’s when soaring egg prices in SC could drop and why they’re so high anyway
It feels like you practically need to take out a second mortgage just to make an omelet these days.
Well, maybe things are not quite that dire, but still, shoppers in South Carolina and across the U.S. have felt the pain of skyrocketing egg prices in recent months.
Egg prices were up about 60% in December from a year ago, the latest statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show. The price of a dozen large Grade A eggs spiked in the U.S. to $4.25 in December from $1.93 in January 2022.
Here’s why egg prices have risen so much and when South Carolinians can expect some relief.
Inflation isn’t driving the high egg prices
While rising inflation hit the food industry relatively hard last year, it’s not the primary reason why eggs in particular are so expensive, said Joey Von Nessen, research economist at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.
“The primary factor is due to a lack of supply and that lack of supply is due to an outbreak of bird flu,” Von Nessen said.
Avian influenza is caused by a virus that is highly contagious and often deadly among chickens and other poultry.
More than 43 million egg-laying hens died from the virus between February and December 2022, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show. As a result, U.S. egg inventories were 29% lower in the final week of December than at the start of 2022.
Rise in egg prices in the South
“Egg price increases have been pretty substantial compared to inflation,” Von Nessen said. “It’s been 20-50% in and in some cases even higher … while the total inflation rate is 6.5%.”
When will egg prices drop?
It’s unknown exactly when egg prices will fall in South Carolina, but they won’t drop anytime soon, Von Nessen said.
“We’re looking at months, not weeks,” he said. “For prices to go down, we need to get production up. From the perspective of South Carolinians, we need to prepare for eggs to remain high in price the short term.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
