The Agriculture Department reported a bump of only a few cents in the nationwide average price of wholesale eggs in the week preceding the Easter Holiday.
The USDA’s latest report shows prices for large quantity purchases, or “trucklot” amounts, rose by $0.06 this week. The current average nationwide wholesale price per dozen is $3.13. There is a difference between that baseline wholesale price and what retailers charge. Many charge more than what they pay, but on occasion, some charge less than what they paid and make up the difference with what they charge for other items. It is a constantly changing scenario.
Midwest retail giant Meijer on Saturday advertised one dozen eggs as low as $3.69, with another variety of eggs offered at $6.49.
On the West Coast, Albertsons, with a large retail presence in California, advertised retail prices for a dozen eggs as low as $2.99, with prices ranging up to $8.99 per dozen for other varieties.
The USDA said demand for eggs rose as expected during the week in advance of the Easter holiday, but consumer demand did not reach the level of previous years when prices were consistently lower. The report said that could be a factor that prevented many retailers from offering incentive pricing. “Major retail grocers have opted out of running their usual annual holiday shell egg promotions this year as supplies have only recently recovered sufficiently to maintain a consistent offering; a situation few are willing to jeopardize by running features.”
New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul blamed President Donald Trump this week for high egg prices in her state. That comment came under fire from the President of the American Egg Board, who told Newsmax that Hochul was wrong to blame Trump.
The White House plans to hold its traditional Egg Roll event on Monday. It announced that real eggs would be used, which also caught some criticism. The Egg Board refuted those comments by pointing out the eggs for the event are odd sizes that are not otherwise offered to traditional retail markets and won’t have an impact on availability of eggs to comsume anywhere in America.
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