Eggs are used for all meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert — but this commodity has turned into a luxury as shortages decrease their affordability and accessibility.

“The local economy is fairly large and integrated nationally, so prices of goods generally converge across the U.S. unless there are barriers like different taxes or locally produced fresh ‘farm-to-market’ goods,” said Kishore Gawande, professor of international management, in an email.

According to The Washington Post, the issue started during COVID-19 with supply chain and transportation issues. The situation worsened when an ongoing outbreak of avian flu began in February 2022 and wiped out roughly 5% of the egg-laying hen population, according to the article. Between customer demand and a lack of goods, the number of eggs decreased and their prices skyrocketed.

“Prices effectively direct supply to their ‘best’ or most profitable use, which is as it should be in times of shortages,” Gawande said. “ Higher prices are natural, but they also encourage more production in the future. Otherwise, we would see shortages forever. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the February 2023 Midwest-region average price for a dozen large white shell eggs is $3.05, compared to the $2.61 average in February 2022 reported by CNBC. Gawande said Texas-based retailers like H-E-B sell eggs to consumers at higher prices to recover lost revenue due to predetermined contracts setting unfluctuating prices between companies and farms.

The egg shortage and inflation affects the diet of Rehan Rupawalla, a Plan II and business honors junior. He and his two roommates, who eat about five dozen eggs a week, used to spend $60-$80 a month on eggs. Now, he says they spend up to $100 a month.

“We were just hoping maybe this is like a week or two-week issue, but, then we started realizing it’s not really,” Rupawalla said. “We’re a little bit more conscious about (it). … We joke we’re having a luxury meal now when it’s just a breakfast egg.

J. Keith Morrison, culinary director of University Housing and Dining, said they buy 11,700 pounds of liquid eggs annually, or 2,000 pounds a week, for the dining halls. He said while the consumer level prices are rising, the University’s price of eggs has only risen 97 cents since August, and doesn’t affect students’ access to these goods in the dining halls.

“When you go shopping as a consumer and you see prices jumping up and down, (UHD) doesn’t really have to deal with that,” Morrison said. “Even if (we) did, it wouldn’t make a difference in what we serve.”

Gawande said it would be at least March before the prices of eggs would drop down to $3, though it would take even longer to return to pre-2022 prices. He said the price of regular eggs will take longer because they can be produced and shipped nationally, making them scarcer, while organic egg prices will return to normal sooner because of their local farm-to-market requirement.

“We’re trying each day to make things better and to give (residents) the freshest, most nutritious meal we can,” Morrison said.