Ahead of the egg-citing Easter holiday, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension livestock economist David P. Anderson discusses the prices of eggs in this Q&A with KPRC.
Q: Are there any anticipated fluctuations in egg prices leading up to Easter?
Recommended Videos
A: This increase in prices in the Spring is related to Easter holiday demand. That part of higher prices is to be expected and the increase in prices can move around a little because Easter moves around. So, the fact that prices increase leading up to Easter and that they decline following the Easter holiday demand isn’t a huge surprise.
Something to consider also is this seasonal holiday-driven demand against the backdrop of big events like HPAI (Avian flu) that wiped out a lot of egg-laying chickens, cut supplies drastically, and raised prices to record levels. That event has been larger than any holiday demand and also disrupted some of the normal price patterns we might see. Then HPAI passed and the industry was able to increase production which drove down prices again. So, we have seasonal events occurring while we also have these big events that disrupt the whole thing.
SEE ALSO: Easter is March 31 this year. Here’s why many Christians will wake up before sunrise to celebrate
Q: What is the current average price of eggs for Easter compared to previous years?
A: The latest monthly retail data for egg prices is for Feb., 2024. This is the data that goes into the Consumer Price Index calculation. It was 299.6 cents per dozen or $2.996 per dozen. That was up from 252.2 in January 2024. Eggs in February 2023 were 421.1 cents per dozen. Retail eggs in Feb. were the highest since April 2023 when they 327 cents per dozen.
So, eggs were higher this spring than in the last few months but, compared to last year they are a lot cheaper.
We also get some wholesale egg price data that is published weekly by USDA. This data indicates that egg prices peaked in mid-February and started declining in late February and March. This is a national average price and it peaked at 328.6 cents per dozen. By last week the price was down to 224.69 cents per dozen.
Easter is a little earlier this year than last year, March compared to April, so some of that buying to get it to stores happened a little earlier too.
SEE ALSO: An eggs-ceptional weekend is headed our way in Houston
Falling wholesale prices indicate that average prices in March and April are likely to be lower than in February. So, some lower prices are likely on the way.
Q: Have there been any other factors influencing egg prices this Easter?
A: One thing that is helping egg producers are cheaper feed costs. The U.S. had our largest corn crop in history last year and that has led to lower prices. Feed costs are the biggest costs in egg production so that is helping profitability.
SEE ALSO: VOTE NOW: Houston’s great Easter candy debate
Q: How do egg prices for Easter compare to other seasonal holidays throughout the year?
A: I’m not sure that it is the biggest. Certainly in the Fall we might get a demand boost from holiday baking needs. Other food items have holiday demand boosts for example, lamb at Easter, turkeys at Thanksgiving, butter and cheese in the Fall, beef prime rib in the Fall, grilling season hamburgers, and not to forget chicken wings at the Super Bowl. I think this area of holiday demands is a really interesting one in food markets.