A grocery store employee in Staten Island, New York, highlights the price tag of eggs on Monday. Egg prices are surging due to an outbreak of bird flu, which has led to the culling of poultry flocks across the United States. HAO DONG / CHINA DAILY
Some shoppers said they like them scrambled, others prefer them baked, while a few enjoy them boiled or poached.
But none of the customers who were out buying eggs in supermarkets in New York City on Monday were happy about the significant price increase on a dozen due to an outbreak of bird flu nationwide.
"I think it's disgusting," Noel Barry, a 50-year-old originally from Maryland, told China Daily about the price of eggs while shopping at a Stop & Shop store in downtown Brooklyn.
"I don't understand where this virus is coming from. Are the chickens picketing? I was in Trader Joe's two weeks ago, and the eggs were like $8. It's stressed my budget. I no longer buy eggs. It's not a part of my options in terms of protein."
More than 150 million poultry birds have been killed in 50 states in a bid to stop the spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
It has created a lack of egg-laying hens, which has caused an egg shortage and pushed up prices on those left on supermarket shelves.
Many shoppers are having to pay $8.99 or more for a dozen eggs, when the average price in December was $4.15, US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. In some grocery stores, the egg shelves are bare.
Jason Bach, 34, of Brooklyn, originally from San Diego, California, peered into an empty refrigerator where eggs would typically be in a Target store in downtown Brooklyn.
The father of a 7-week-old baby was out shopping with his partner. He looked surprised while reading a sign on the refrigerator door that said: "We are currently experiencing high demand and supplier shortages for eggs. We are actively seeking additional supply."
"It's disappointing," Bach told China Daily. "It's just really hard because a lot of things we used to cook or to bake use eggs. Even before this egg shortage, our family and I would always make eggs and bacon in the morning. Now it's just bacon, and it's not the same."
Across the country, a few supermarkets have put limits on how many fresh eggs each customer can buy.
In Los Angeles, Sprouts has limited customers to four dozen eggs per visit. A spokesperson for Kroger said some regional stores are asking customers to limit themselves to two dozen per trip.
At Costco, shoppers are limited to three packages of eggs per person or five online. And the store's website warns that "due to supply challenges caused by the highly pathogenic avian influenza, shell eggs and egg products may be short or cut from delivery orders without notice".
Customers at a Trader Joe's store in Brooklyn looked puzzled as they wheeled their shopping carts closer to gaze at empty shelves where rows of eggs once were. Staffers said supply had been low for a week or longer.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe's said in a statement: "Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe's stores across the country."
Months after inflation slowed, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast a 20 percent price increase for eggs this year.
The average price nationally of a dozen eggs is now $7.95, up from $3.30 in 2024, USDA figures show.
Flustered shoppers say they've paid even more.
"I've seen a $3 to $4 increase in what I'm paying for eggs," Ami Patel, 35, of New York told China Daily.
Bach agreed. "The other day we bought eggs, it was $9.99, he said. "That was astronomical, and that's almost a dollar an egg. We used to get the Costco eggs, 60 for seven bucks."
New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered seven poultry markets in Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn to temporarily close between Feb 7 and Feb 14 and be disinfected after inspectors discovered bird flu.
Hochul also ordered live markets in Westchester County to be shut and disinfected, and also in Nassau and Suffolk counties, despite inspectors not identifying bird flu in those areas.
The Wildlife Conservation Society reported that three ducks died at the Queens Zoo due to the flu. At least 12 birds that may have been exposed died at the Bronx Zoo.
Fausta Einhorn, 71, originally from Italy and now a New York City resident, is a pensioner on a fixed budget. She was out shopping at a pricey Whole Foods market, carefully picking up just a few things to stick within her tight budget.
"I have noticed at my local Pioneer supermarket, which isn't as upscale as Whole Foods, prices are higher there," Einhorn told China Daily.
"It is in a neighborhood with a lot of people who are not upscale, like here. In Whole Foods, eggs cost me $7, and there, it was like, $12. The prices have been going up. I think it's greed of commerce. Many think that Trump is going to put tariffs, so they say let's put the prices up."
Nationwide, the price of eggs is so high that there have been reports of theft.
At least 100,000 eggs disappeared from Pete and Gerry's Eggs facilities in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, last weekend, ABC News reported.
The egg company said 8,000 cartons worth $40,000 were stolen on Feb 2. The business has since boosted security.
In Washington state, more than 500 eggs worth nearly $400 were stolen from a West Seattle cafe on Feb 8, according to Seattle police.
Security footage showed two men entering the restaurant's refrigerator and taking eggs, bacon, ground beef and liquid egg products. They then loaded the goods into a van and sped off. The suspects returned to the scene for possibly more pilferage, but left after being spotted by an employee.
Waffle House has implemented a surcharge of 50 cents for egg items on the restaurant chain's menus.
