ARIZONA, USA — Prices for so many items are up this year, from gas prices to rent. Even grocery store prices are affected, and eggs are no exception.
According to the USDA, the price for a dozen eggs is about $3.00 more expensive at the grocery store than last October.
It's a price that John Stidham knows well.
"Eggs would probably cost me $3,000 to $4,000 more a month than they were a year ago," Stidham said.
Stidham owns Original Breakfast House and estimates the restaurant uses 5,000 to 7,000 eggs a week.
That cost has an effect.
"If three eggs cost me $0.35 more, that's $1.10. I need to raise my omelet price by $1.25 at least - that just covers the cost," Stidham said.
George Frisvold, a professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Arizona said the price of eggs at the grocery store is up because of the avian flu. Still, it's not just egg and poultry prices that are up.
"Normally, consumers can switch to something else that's cheaper, but the prices of everything gone up," Frisvold said.
Stidham said the restaurant isn't serving turkey sandwiches because of how high the cost is compared to ham.
"We have to adjust a lot of things, be smart about it. We take certain things off the menus, so there's no sticker shock," Stidham said.
Looking at USDA projections, Frisvold said the food at home is supposed to go up by 11% by the end of the year.
Usually, Frisvold said, it only goes up 2-3% a year.
So, expect to pay more for dairy products, meat, baked goods, pork, and non-alcoholic beverages. They're all among items that are on the rise.
Beyond the avian flu, Frisvold said there's more at play too.
"You have disruptions in wheat markets because Russia invaded Ukraine, you've got supply bottlenecks that are still coming from COVID, you had wage increases which were much larger than they have been in years," Frisvold said.
Currently, wholesale prices for eggs are already coming down, so Frisvold said he doesn't expect the price of eggs to stay high. Additionally, historically, prices of eggs don't spike and stay high for long periods.
Looking at the USDA projections again, Frisvold said, the agency is predicting closer to normal increases in other grocery store prices next year.
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