Most of us know by now that egg prices are near all-time highs
They are calling it "eggs-flation" and "eggs-spensive."
But with Easter coming, could prices and supplies of eggs get even worse?
The price of eggs has soared 60% in the past year, according to the government, to $4 to $5 a dozen at many stores.
Many Kroger stores recently had a deal on a dozen large eggs for $3.50.
Bakers, restaurants struggle
Those high prices, combined with high butter and flour prices, are hitting restaurants and bakeries especially hard.
Mary Pat Pace, co owner of Cincinnati's BonBonerie bakery, is struggling with high costs.
"Our eggs are 41 cents each," she said. "What they used to be was 10 cents each."
She's trying not to raise the price of her cakes and other delicacies, but said it's tough, especially with flour and vanilla prices up too.
So why are egg prices so high when inflation is starting to drop?
The main reason, according to a report in VOX, "the eggs are expensive because the chickens are sick."
It says over 50 million hens have died from the bird flu in the last year.
Farmers hoping prices fall soon
But egg farmers tell VOX two factors should hopefully lower the cost of eggs by late spring: one, demand drops sharply after Easter; two, avian flu -- like all flu-- tends to drop off as the weather gets hot.
Stephanie Tewes raises both chickens and turkeys atTewes Farm in Erlanger, KY.
She said their flocks have been healthy so far.
"We try not to have our birds interact with other birds," she said.
But her egg prices are up simply because the price of feeding her hens has soared.
"Truckers have to pay for their fuel to get the feed up to us. The price of that has gone up, the price of straw...."
But there is some hope: VOX says warm weather ended the last bad bird flu outbreak in 2015, and hopefully will do it again this year.
More healthy birds will then mean more eggs, and lower prices.
Meantime, egg producers are hoping lower demand after Easter should also force prices back down, so you don't waste your money.
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