- Egg prices in the US Midwest are soaring ahead of Easter, doubling over the past month.
- Analysts put the price surge down to strong pre-Easter demand and adverse weather conditions.
- Easter Sunday falls on April 1.
US egg prices are soaring ahead of Easter, doubling over the past month.
According to Bloomberg, citing data from the US Department of Agriculture, the wholesale cost of a dozen eggs in the US Midwest has jumped to $2.71, leaving it within touching distance of the record-high of $2.77 set in August 2015.
Pre-Easter demand, along with adverse weather in Northeastern regions, may have prompted shoppers to stock up on grocery staples, analysts said.
“Demand for decorating and cooking typically rises before Easter, and adverse weather in the Northeast may have prompted shoppers to stock up on grocery staples,” Knox Jones, an analyst at Advanced Economic Solutions, told Bloomberg.
Buyers are scrambling for supply, seemingly.
In a sign of just how strong demand for eggs is this year, separate data from the US Department of Agriculture showed there were 385.6 million laying hens in the US at the start of March, the highest over a comparable period in at least a decade.