Americans paid 32.2 percent more for eggs in 2022 than they did in 2021. An ongoing epidemic of avian influenza, rising gas prices, and the supply chain crisis are just some of the catalysts for rising prices. Prices, however, could stabilize just in time for the community’s Easter Egg hunts.
“I think by Easter or before, we’ll see a real shift,” said Ansley Fellers, Executive Director of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association, in a conversation with KLIN News. “We’ve got to rebuild the flock, we’ve got to get past some of the really tough weather, and hopefully we can do some things to get some more truck drivers and more employees in all of these places back to working full time, too.”
The Easter estimation is based on a few factors. Fellers informed KLIN News that the United States Department of Agriculture is reporting higher stocks of egg-laying hens from a year ago, and an Easter date adds more time to rebuild flocks. An easing of supply chain issues is another cause for optimism.
“Our supply chain issues, in many ways, have softened a little bit over the last couple of years,” said Fellers. “But it wasn’t too many months ago that we were talking about how high gas and diesel were. Just the cost of fuel can impact these prices.”
Fellers estimates that Nebraskans currently pay, on average, about $3.50 for a dozen eggs. Easter falls on April 9 this year.