Brutal winter to blame for soaring egg prices at Easter

CHICAGO — Add record prices for Easter eggs to the list of annoyances spawned by this year’s frigid U.S. winter.

Why eggs? Because when it’s cold out, consumers want to poach, fry and scramble them in the mornings for a hot breakfast, so says commodity research firm Urner Barry.

All that cracking means hens are having a hard time keeping up with demand, especially as exports surge to Canada and Mexico.

Wholesale U.S. prices are at the highest ever leading into Easter, according to Urner Barry, which has been tracking the data since 1858.

Parts of the U.S. suffered the coldest February in decades, with the Northeast the most frigid since 1934.

Even amid the start of spring in March, more than 800 records were broken across the country for low temperatures, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

With protein-heavy diets gaining popularity, Americans in 2015 will eat the most eggs per person in three decades, government data show.

“There’s no doubt it’s a great time to be in the egg business, because eggs are hot,” said Kevin Burkum, a senior vice-president of the Park Ridge, Illinois-based American Egg Board.

“With the protein megatrend, there’s a huge sustained interest.”

Prices typically rise before Easter, the biggest day of the year for eggs, as consumers indulge in baking, go out for brunch and decorate eggs.

Americans will eat 6.3 billion eggs in the month leading up to the holiday, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Wholesale-egg prices reached $1.85 US a dozen on March 26, according to Urner Barry. Prices are up about 46 per cent from 2014, and have more than doubled from 87 cents five years ago.

The Easter bump for prices may be short-lived as producers expand hen flocks and cheap grain reduces feed costs.

Egg output will climb 1.1 per cent in 2015 to 8.4 billion cases, the USDA estimates.

Prices will average about $1.30 per dozen this year, down from $1.42 in 2014, the agency forecasts.