Surging egg sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the highest egg prices since the avian influenza outbreak of 2015, protein market news analysis company Urner Barry said in a new report.
A timeline
Sales of shell eggs began rising during the first week of March. At the time, experts attributed the rise to overly cautious consumers stocking up in preparation for any potential quarantines due to COVID-19.
That all changed in mid-March as the virus began to spread throughout the U.S. Panicked shoppers flocked to big box stores, grocery chains, convenience stores and even local farmers markets to purchase eggs, milk and other items to fill pantries for actual quarantines.
“We’re still seeing very strong retail demand across the country, but now it’s being driven by actual consumption, rather than fear. With people sheltering in place, there are a lot more meals being prepared at home and eggs are an easy, inexpensive protein option,” Karen Rispoli, the Egg Market Reporter for Urner Barry, said.
In response to the growing consumer demand, egg prices jumped. Since March 3, the price for a dozen Midwest large shell eggs grew $1.58 or 153% to $2.61/dozen, the highest price seen since the 2015 avian influenza outbreak, the report noted.
A struggle to meet demand
Retail demand for shell eggs is still strong as many retail stores are continuing to struggle to meet demand. In response, some retailers are ordering up to 400% more supplies than normal, an impossible challenge that suppliers are trying desperately to meet, the report noted.
“The nation’s egg supply is essentially fixed. It’s not something that can be quickly or easily adjusted to meet a sudden surge in demand. Suppliers are working around the clock to process as many eggs as possible, but aside from that, there’s little that can be done from the supply side,” Rispoli explained.
In many cases, suppliers have been able to redirect eggs originally intended for food service or institutional purposes. However, the national shell inventory has fallen 16% since March 2, 2020 to 1.647 million cases, the industry’s lowest inventory since late August 2019.
Layer facilities are working hard to meet the increased demand, with some producers even holding older birds that were scheduled to come out of production in an attempt to boost the number of eggs produced.
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