Scrambling for relief: Sky-high egg prices affecting every level of market

Yahoo

28-01-2025

Sylvia Villa, the manager of the nearly 130-year-old Santa Fe grocery store Kaune's Neighborhood Market, rejects the idea
the skyrocketing price of eggs is causing a growing level of resentment among her customers.
But she doesn't count herself among their ranks.
'They aren't upset with the prices,' she said, pausing and then blurting out, 'I'm upset on a personal level every time I buy eggs.'
Villa acknowledged it isn't often she finds herself feeling more frustration than her shoppers about high prices. But she said she figures most people have absorbed enough news stories about the effects of the avian flu in recent weeks to have a decent grasp of why egg prices have increased, increased and increased some more this winter.
Villa shook her head in affirmation when she was asked if she believes consumers simply have decided if they want to continue to eat eggs, they're going to need to pay through the nose for them.
'They're understanding,' she said. 'Obviously, they listen to the news.'
Generally speaking, egg prices have more than doubled, perhaps even tripled, since the bird flu epidemic kicked into high gear, killing egg-laying hens by the millions and leading to a sharp decline in egg production.
Since Jan. 1 alone, nearly 8.3 million such hens have been lost, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Egg Markets Overview for Jan. 24. That comes on the heels of the loss of 13.2 million birds in December 2024 — a total depopulation of approximately 21.5 million over less than two months.
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Chickens roam around the property at 3N1 Farm in Nambé on Monday afternoon. Egg prices have more than doubled, perhaps even tripled, since the bird flu epidemic kicked into high gear, killing egg-laying hens by the millions and leading to a sharp decline in egg production.
That has led to egg shortages and even outages in some areas, with some markets reportedly rationing the number of eggs customers are allowed to purchase — when they have them in stock. Villa said that hasn't been the case at Kaune's, 511 Old Santa Fe Trail, though she pointed out the market is in a different position than large, national grocery chains.
'The clientele we have is an older generation,' she said, explaining her customers typically just buy enough eggs to get them through the next several days, rather than stocking up on eggs by the dozen or even in 18-egg packs.
It's much more common for Kaune's customers to buy eggs by the half dozen, she said, and that has helped the store avoid the kind of shortages other markets have experienced. So far, Kaune's has had no trouble obtaining enough eggs to meet customer demand, Villa said.
It also has two reliable suppliers, she said, meaning if one egg producer is running short, the other one can usually step up and fill the void.
Maxed out in Nambé
Eli and Anne Martinez, who own the 3N1 Farm in Nambé, said demand is high for the two to four dozen eggs a day produced by their 90 to 130 free-range chickens.
'I really can't keep up,' Eli Martinez said. 'I'm waiting for some chickens to start laying this coming month, and I'm anticipating buying another 100 birds, but it'll take another 25 weeks for them to start laying.'
Martinez said he typically adds 50 to 60 birds to his flock twice a year, so the addition of 100 chickens at once would be a significant increase for him.
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Anne Martinez watches over some of her flock of chickens as they feed Monday afternoon at 3N1 Farm in Nambé. She said demand for locally produced eggs has grown as the nation deals with an egg shortage.
Martinez said he typically delivers 300 eggs a month to a Santa Fe bed-and-breakfast, and more to other local customers. On Monday, Martinez delivered 15 dozen eggs to customers in Santa Fe.
That clientele was developed largely through word of mouth and social media posts made by Anne Martinez, he said.
Martinez doesn't anticipate being able to take on new customers anytime soon.
'[Sunday] night, I told my wife, 'If there's anybody new, we'll have to have them wait in line because I like to take care of the people who have been with me for the past five, six years and keep them happy,' ' he said.
Martinez said the egg shortage may have an additional benefit for his farm down the road, explaining he thinks more customers may be open to the idea of buying eggs from small producers like himself than purchasing them from a supermarket.
Plenty of eggs — at a high price
The egg shortage has certainly affected the bottom line at the Burrito Co., 111 Washington Ave., just northeast of the Plaza, its general manager says.
But the Northern New Mexican eatery has not had any trouble sourcing all the eggs it needs for its breakfast burritos, omelettes and breakfast plates, Atilio Castro said.
'For the time being, no,' he said. 'I know there is an egg shortage, but our only issue has been pricing.'
Castro said prices have fluctuated in recent months, but he said the Burrito Co. has paid as much as $107 for an order of 15 dozen eggs. That figure is several times what the restaurant was paying for eggs before the price started going up during the coronavirus pandemic, he said.
One odd side effect of the price increases of the last couple of months has been that organic eggs recently became cheaper than regular eggs, he said, though he did not know how long that would last.
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Chickens feed at 3N1 Farm on Monday afternoon in Nambé. Eli Martinez, who runs the farm with his wife Anne Martinez, said he can't keep up with the demand for eggs as some consumers turn to local egg producers amid the national egg shortage. He plans to add 100 more chickens to the flock.
The steep increase in wholesale prices led the Burrito Co. to raise the price of egg-inclusive menu items just last week, Castro said — a move that mirrored that of Lotaburger, the New Mexico-based fast-food chain that hiked the price of its breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches by $1. Castro said he hated to do it, but the cost of eggs left him little choice.
'We'd love to keep being one of those go-to places for being cheap,' he said. 'But we have to keep up with food costs.'
Like Villa, the store manager at Kaune's, Castro said his customers seem to have taken the price increase in stride.
'For the most part, they understood,' he said. 'I feel like it's such a staple, and the food is so good, people will keep coming back.'