Retail egg prices hit a record high in March despite wholesale prices plummeting by more than 50% from their February highs.
Wholesale prices represent the bulk goods retailers buy for their stores, while retail prices are the prices they sell to the public. Retail prices are nearly always significantly higher than wholesale prices, as the retailer needs to make a profit and cover associated costs.
Industry experts speaking with the Associated Press were puzzled by the disconnect between rising retail prices and falling wholesale prices, although some speculated the rise is only temporary and will reflect falling wholesale prices soon.
At a Thursday Cabinet meeting, President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins both predicted as much.
“Eggs are down big, right? Big?” Trump asked.
“Wholesale prices. Retail will come. Easter is the Super Bowl for eggs. So, you know there will be a little bit of fluctuation. But we feel really good about it,” Rollins replied.
Wholesale egg prices have fallen by roughly half since Trump took office. Most of this change took place in March, so it could take time to reach retailers and consumers.
Datasembly, a market research company, found that egg prices began falling in mid-March. A dozen eggs averaged $5.98 on the week beginning March 16 and dropped to $5.51 on the week beginning March 30.
The consumer price index records monthly averages, so the change took place too late to be noted in the final tally. Falling wholesale prices, Easter, and measures from the Trump administration to increase egg imports are likely to significantly lower egg prices in the April average.
Egg prices also vary by state, affected by the locations of bird flu outbreaks and state laws requiring cage-free eggs. A dozen eggs in Richmond, California, cost $6.34, while a dozen eggs in Omaha, Nebraska, cost $4.97.
The Trump administration has pursued a strategy of shoring up farms’ defenses against outbreaks of bird flu, a strategy that seems to have paid off so far as the Associated Press reported no other bird flu outbreaks. As egg production revamps, Rollins announced the import of hundreds of millions of eggs from South Korea and Turkey.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IMPORTS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF EGGS AS PRICES DROP SIGNIFICANTLY
Rollins said the imports are a temporary measure to keep prices down while the United States works on repopulating its chicken population.
“We are talking in the hundreds of millions of eggs for the short term. So not insignificant, but significant enough to help continue to bring the prices down for right now,” she said. “And then when our chicken populations are repopulated, and we’ve got a full egg-laying industry going again, hopefully in a couple of months, we then shift back to our internal egg-layers and moving those eggs out onto the shelf.”
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
