As egg prices continue to soar, grocers like Trader Joe's limit how many cartons customers can buy

The problem isn't going away because the virus continues to mutate and infect more birds, other animals and some people. And anytime a chicken or turkey gets sick, the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread.

The shortages do tend to be isolated, so they might not be a problem at your store. But there's no way to predict when a massive farm with millions of birds might get hit, and just one of those cases can cause supply problems.

As a result, prices have skyrocketed.

Jose Castillo said it's becoming hard to keep the Cuban sandwiches and king cakes affordable at his Norma's Sweets Bakery in New Orleans because he's paying nearly four times as much for eggs now.

"Oh it's hurting man. It's crazy how expensive eggs are," said Castillo who is one of the bakery's co-owners. "Normally we'll get them for $35, $40 dollars a case and now we're paying like $118, $120 dollars."

Hard to find

Empty shelves where eggs are supposed to be seem to be becoming more common across the country. Sometimes shoppers have to check two or three stores or seek out a local farmer to get their eggs.

This outbreak has taken a tremendous toll on poultry since it began in 2022. Nearly 158 million birds have been slaughtered overall with the majority being egg-laying chickens.

The hurts egg supplies and drives prices higher. But with more than 300 million chickens nationwide layings eggs for breakfast and baking, the industry can usually deal with the loss of a few million birds without many disruptions.

The problems come when large numbers of birds have to be killed. Last month more than 23 million birds were killed, and that came right after 18 million were slaughtered in December.

And when egg farmers do have to kill their entire flocks it takes at least a month or two to get new birds because the carcasses must be disposed of and all the barns must be sanitized before the farm is cleared. So the effects linger.

Limiting purchases

Trader Joe's is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all of Trader Joe's locations across the country.

"We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe's," the company said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday.

In addition, consumers and several local media outlets have also reported varying limits seen at stores like Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger and Aldi locations. But not all those limits are nationwide.

A spokesperson for Kroger, for example, confirmed that the supermarket giant doesn't currently have "enterprise-wide limits" in place — but said some of regional divisions and store banners are asking customers to cap egg purchases to two dozen per trip.

Walmart says it also hasn't imposed national limits — except for bulkier purchases of 60-count cartons, which have been capped to two per purchase, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant confirmed Tuesday.

"Although supply is very tight, we're working with suppliers to try and help meet customer demand, while striving to keep prices as low as possible," Walmart said in an emailed statement.

An expensive option

The average price per dozen nationwide hit $4.15 in December — more than double the price in the summer of 2023 — and it appears there may be no relief in sight, with the Agriculture Department predicting prices will soar another 20% this year.

Demand will rise as Easter approaches because eggs are popular for holiday dishes and traditional Easter egg hunts.

So when the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes new numbers on Wednesday, egg prices are almost certain to be even higher, although they will probably still be short of the record of $4.82 set in January 2023.

But of course those are only average prices. Consumers are already paying more than $10 a dozen in some places across the country — especially if they choose pricier organic or cage-free options.

Beyond grocery stores limits, U.S. consumers are also facing more expensive eggs in some restaurants. Last week, Waffle House, for example, said it would be adding a 50-cent surcharge per egg on all of its menus.

Cracking the case

With prices that high, it's no wonder that thieves have started to covet eggs.

Seattle police said they were investigating the theft of over 500 eggs from a restaurant last week.

Security camera footage from the early morning hours of last Wednesday showed two men entering a refrigerated shed at Luna Park Cafe in West Seattle. The men removed boxes containing some 540 eggs and liquid egg products — as well as bacon, ground beef and blueberries — and loaded them into a van before leaving the scene. The stolen breakfast items were worth about $780, police said.

Earlier this month, 100,000 eggs were reported stolen from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania. The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry's Organics' distribution trailer on Saturday about 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, according to police.

Those stolen eggs are worth about $40,000.

Not only are eggs expensive because of the ongoing bird flu outbreak. Now they are sometimes hard to find. And even when stores do have eggs, consumers might face limits on how many they can buy. Eggs have even become such a hot commodity that there have even been a couple of heists where thieves seem to be treating the yolks as if they were made out of gold. The problem isn't going away because the virus continues to infect more birds. The shortages do tend to be isolated. But there's no way to predict when a massive farm with millions of birds might get hit, and just one of those cases can cause supply problems.