STORY: Shoppers in the U.S. are seeing egg prices soar and purchase limits imposed due to a bird flu outbreak affecting supply.
Stores like Trader Joe’s now limit egg purchases to only one dozen per customer.
And it’s all just another blow for consumers after years of rising prices.
This shopper was unhappy, but trying to be understanding:
“I saw one store, Trader Joe’s, that limited to one dozen, but their prices were cheaper than a lot of other places. Their price I happened to look theirs was $4.99 and I think Walmart’s was six something. So I understand where they’re doing it. I do understand. I’m not happy about it, but I do understand.”
So far, the bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has infected nearly 70 people, mostly farm workers, since April.
The H5N1 virus has also raised egg prices by killing millions of hens.
Supply chain expert Matt Sutton-Vermeulen from consulting firm Kearney explains:
“The price of eggs has gone up because of this supply demand relationship. It’s a highly inelastic commodity, which means it doesn’t, the demand for doesn’t move when the supply is tightened and so the price moves up unfortunately with it.”
Authorities have also found a second strain of bird flu in dairy cattle – ramping up concerns about its spread.
Experts are also worried that the virus no longer seems connected to the movement of wild birds:
“Typically in the past, you know, in the historical view of the virus, we’ve seen it stop, we’ve seen it peak and fall around the migratory flights. But we are not seeing that anymore. We are seeing a more prevalent disease state.”
Last week, regulators closed poultry markets in New York City and some neighboring counties in a bid to stop the spread of the disease.
