One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Ready to pay $9 for eggs? Why prices are so high right now
Eggs Offer Grinwald collects from his chicken coup.
(
Ashley Balderrama
/
LAist
)
Topline:
It’s not just your local supermarket, egg prices in California have skyrocketed due to low supply during the bird flu outbreak. The benchmark price for a dozen eggs in California is up about 70% over November, according to the USDA. That means some shoppers are paying nearly $9 for a dozen large eggs.
What’s going on? Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation, said California lost somewhere between 17 million and 20 million birds — including chickens, ducks, and turkeys — in the last few months due to the bird flu outbreak. That includes millions of egg-laying hens.
The holiday effect: People use a lot of eggs over the holidays, too, which has driven up demand in recent weeks. “The holidays are over — lots of eggs are used in the holidays — so we’re hopeful that the shelves start to fill up,” Mattos said.
What’s next: Mattos said egg prices should level out by mid-April.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
