ZEELAND, Mich. — In recent weeks, egg prices have soared at the grocery store.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from the start of 2022 to the end of 2022, a carton of grade A eggs went up in price on average $2.31 per dozen eggs.
In West Michigan, we’ve even seen eggs reaching into the $6 a dozen price range in some areas.
And while it’s hurting our wallets, it’s also hurting local businesses like Le Creme that utilize eggs to make a profit.
“We do go through about 10 to 12 dozen eggs in a day between the crate batter and the actual eggs that we serve on the crepes, " La Creme Owner Kim De Young said.
De Young says egg prices have quadrupled since they opened just a few years ago and have tripled in the last year.
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“It's just the challenge of saying to yourself, do we absorb this, or do we pass it on to the consumer?” De Young said.
And it’s not just here in Michigan, according to Michigan Farm Bureau Lead Economist Loren Koeman, the average price of eggs in the U.S. has gone up 50%.
“Feed prices, energy prices, all of the things that are affecting most of the egg economy, " Koeman said. “In addition, we've got avian influenza that hit the country last year, with about 57 million cases.”
Koeman says in Michigan, we are actually fairing a little better at just about a 40% increase in egg prices year over year.
He says he doesn’t expect prices to return to what we were used to paying before the bird flu hit but does expect prices to start to settle down in 2023.
Kim says she remains hopeful and says the restaurant will continue to get creative, so customers aren’t feeling the pain of these egg prices.
“We were just looking at how do we round up the menu to include things that don't include eggs, like being a French Cafe, we could bring him some crock sandwiches like the Croque madame,” De Young said.
