$7 a dozen? Why California eggs are so expensive — and increasingly hard to find

Golden State customers are shelling out excessive costs for eggs, amid an outbreak of hen flu that has killed tens of millions of hens and left native grocers struggling to inventory cartons that adjust to California legislation.

“I actually simply got here from one other retailer, as a result of they have been out,” stated Princess Hodges, 23, who managed to snag an 18-pack at Food4Less in West Adams after hanging out at a close-by Ralphs. “I used to be extraordinarily stunned, as a result of it’s a staple.”

Egg instances have been naked throughout Los Angeles County this week, from Dealer Joe’s in Lengthy Seashore to Amazon Contemporary in Inglewood, Goal in MidCity to Ralphs in Glendale. These comparable to Hodges who discovered cartons have been shocked by the sudden spike in value.

“I’ve by no means seen something like this,” stated Anna Sanchez, 32, who scoured the half-empty cabinets at a Sensible & Closing in College Park on the lookout for a dozen eggs for lower than $10. “The cheaper ones simply aren’t there.”

The common retail value for a dozen giant eggs jumped to $7.37 in California this week, up from $4.83 firstly of December and simply $2.35 presently final yr, knowledge from the U.S. Division of Agriculture present.

The trigger is an unprecedented outbreak of extremely pathogenic avian influenza — generally referred to as hen flu — that has killed tens of tens of millions of egg-layers nationwide. Amongst these are tens of millions of cage-free hens California depends on to adjust to Proposition 12, the 2018 animal welfare initiative that took impact final yr.

The ensuing shortages and value will increase have hit the poorest Californians arduous, consuming up stock at meals banks and pinching households who depend on federal applications with strict shopping for tips. They usually’ve solely been exacerbated within the new yr, as new cage-free mandates in different states take impact and demand continues to outstrip provide.

“They needed to kill 50 million chickens, and [many of those] lay cage-free,” stated Rami Rosenthal, head of Toby Egg Farms, a Los Angeles egg wholesaler. “The opposite cause is California voted to have [only] cage-free eggs, however California doesn’t have sufficient.”

Greater than 57 million chickens and turkeys have died or been culled for the reason that outbreak started final February, together with near 4 million egg-laying hens in December alone. Among the many roughly 40 million hens misplaced nationwide for the reason that outbreak started, greater than 5 million have been cage-free egg layers, USDA knowledge present.

Though cage-free hens could also be considerably extra more likely to come into contact with the wild birds that infect flocks with avian influenza, their enclosed counterparts can extra simply unfold the illness as soon as it reaches a farm. To this point, each kinds of birds have been stricken with the virus at related charges.

“The present outbreak has impacted all kinds of farms, no matter dimension or manufacturing model,” a USDA spokeswoman wrote in an electronic mail.

The distinction is, cage-free flocks make up solely about 30% of the U.S. egg market.

To make sure, the variety of cage-free layers has grown quickly lately. Flocks roughly doubled between November 2018, when Proposition 12 handed, and January 2022, when the legislation took impact. California’s layers now quantity virtually 14 million, they usually have thus far been spared by the outbreak.

“Fortunately, our California egg trade has averted any hen flu in industrial flocks,” California Poultry Federation President Invoice Mattos wrote in an electronic mail. “Their biosecurity is excellent and firms listed below are working very arduous to maintain wild birds out of amenities and farms throughout the state.”

However demand has grown a lot quicker than cage-free flocks. Since Proposition 12 handed, no less than six different states have voted to ban the sale of typical eggs. Three of these bans are actually in impact, together with in Colorado and Washington, the place typical eggs have been outlawed Jan. 1.

Which means, between this week and the final, virtually 14 million extra People started competing for a product that was already scarce.

“Swiftly, eggs are out,” stated Glen Curado, founding father of the World Harvest meals financial institution in Arlington Heights, which serves between 100 and 200 households a day. “From three to 4 packs, we’re down to at least one.”

In the meantime, extra households are coming to the meals financial institution, the place volunteers dressed because the Three Kings handed out free toys and a few dozen customers crammed carts with contemporary produce, frozen meat and loaves of bread early Friday afternoon.

Most merchandise have been out on show for the taking. However eggs had been rationed to small plastic baggage within the again.

“We used to provide out a flat of two and a half dozen,” Curado defined. “Now, since we’re low, every household are given six eggs.”

Inflation on primary grocery staples comparable to milk and flour has burdened poor households for months. However the present egg scarcity has been notably powerful for households who depend on the federal Particular Supplemental Diet Program for Ladies, Infants and Youngsters, or WIC.

WIC covers eggs for 1 million low-income expectant mother and father, new households and youngsters youthful than 5 in California.

However solely a one-dozen carton of enormous white eggs, might be purchased with WIC vouchers. As a result of that is usually the most cost effective product, it’s now additionally virtually inconceivable to seek out. Brown, medium, natural, 18-packs — all these are forbidden to WIC customers, even when retailer cabinets are in any other case naked.

”It’s the identical factor like with [baby] components — they’ve to purchase particular ounces, particular grams,” stated Gloria Martinez of Mom’s Dietary Heart, a Southern California chain specializing in WIC meals.

WIC pays for 50% of the child components offered within the U.S. But strict dimension and model restrictions barred recipients from shopping for what few cans could possibly be discovered throughout the depths of the scarcity final yr.

Now, the identical factor is beginning to occur with eggs, consultants worry.

“They might go in and the eggs [covered by WIC] usually are not in inventory,” Martinez stated. “Folks are available in saying they’re out of eggs, they’re out of components. Particularly due to the worth of gasoline, it’s troublesome to go store-hopping.”

Certainly, although the sudden value spike for eggs shouldn’t be itself a product of inflation, inflation has sharply restricted many households’ skill to both seek out a cut price or shell out for options.

It’s additionally put stress on meals companies that may’t go extra prices on to stretched-thin shoppers.

“Small companies particularly, you reside and die by what your meals prices are,” stated Tracy Ann Devore, proprietor of KnowRealityPie in Eagle Rock, who not too long ago let go a dishwasher to stem rising prices. “If this retains up for an additional three to 6 months, it could possibly be a tipping level for some bakeries to shut.”

For Devore and plenty of others, the brand new egg disaster, mixed with uncertainty about when it may ebb, has been extra unsettling than the gradual value creep of dairy merchandise, flour and produce.

“In some unspecified time in the future, you’ll be able to’t elevate the worth anymore,” Devore stated. “There’s been factors the place I’ve cried not too long ago, as a result of I believed, ‘How are we going to maintain going with this?’”

For grocery customers comparable to Sanchez, the reply has been merely to attend and hope costs come down.

Rosenthal, the wholesaler, stated that could possibly be some time.

“They’ve to exchange the chickens, they usually don’t begin laying in a single day,” he stated. “There’s not going to be an finish to this for an additional seven or eight months.”