New York – Small businesses that depend on eggs for their products face the shock of the label because the generally reliable basic element is scarce.
Aviar flu is forcing farmers to kill millions From chickens a month, which makes egg prices shoot us. The average price of a dozen grade A eggs in American cities reached $ 4.95 in JanuaryEclipsando the previous record of $ 4.82 established two years before and more than double the minimum of $ 2.04 that was recorded in August 2023. The Department of Agriculture predicts that prices will rise to another 20% this year.
Most owners are taking the increase in passage, looking at it as only one of the many obstacles they constantly face. But if the problem persists, they could be forced to increase prices or adjust their products.
Liz Berman is the owner and unique owner of the somnolling baker in Natick, Massachusetts. It specializes in personalized cakes from frown, but also sells cakes, cookies, cakes and other baked products.
Eggs are just one of the baking ingredients experience price shocks. Articles such as cocoa powder and butter have also increased. And the price is not the only problem.
“It’s not just the cost of eggs, right? It is also only availability, ”he said. She prefers to buy white medium -sized eggs, buying a box with 18 dozen eggs, but two weeks ago they were not available, so she had to buy brown eggs in individual cardboard of 12.
“It sounds a bit silly, but when I am the only owner and I have a large volume of work, having to get a dozen eggs out of my walk at the same time instead of an egg floor, it’s just a pain,” he said.
She does not believe that prices will be relieved soon. Cocoa dust prices have risen for years.
“I think, ultimately, I will have to increase my prices, which is difficult because that will mean that there is a client category that will no longer ask me,” he said.
In Princeton, New Jersey, John Nachlinger, owner of Bad Cookie Company, is imposing a temporary surcharge of 25 cents per cookies to help mitigate additional costs.
“As cookies are already a tight margin food, these increases have really harmed our results,” Nachlinger said. He said he does not want to permanently increase prices or adjust the size of his cookies, since he expects the egg situation to be temporary. “We want to contribute value to our customers,” he said.
In Daisies, a pasta restaurant in Chicago, chef/partner Joe Frillman and chef/partner Leigh Omilinsky have not increased prices, but they are thinking of adjusting the articles of the menu.
Omilinsky said he is thinking of adding more vegan and egg -free deserts to the menu and has been working more with linen seeds. She said the shortage has made her more aware of the ingredients she is using and wasting less.
“You know, if we need egg yolks, we are absolutely saving those whites,” he said.
Meanwhile, Frillman said the restaurant has changed to make pastries that use less eggs.
“We just changed the shape of the noodles,” he said. “We use an extruder that is a team that basically allows us to extrush the paste without eggs.”
Depending on how long the shortage of eggs lasts, they could also adjust the elements of the menu, he said.
“We have a peppeparada in our menu that has been from day one,” he said. “If this reaches the point where it is only a prohibitive cost, it is very heavy of the egg yolk, then we would transfer to something like a spaghetti or a fettuccine that is similar noodles that we can do without eggs.”
Meanwhile, Stephanie Maynard, co -owner of Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut, faces a different problem: the demand triggered.
The farm she has with her husband produces beef, pork, poultry, eggs and vegetables. They have 950 chickens placed, with 300 more in March. Winter is usually a quieter moment since the farm prepares for the busy spring and summer months, increasing the inventory by hand until it is ready to sell. But this year, they rush the production of eggs for customers in Greenmarkets.
People who could normally buy eggs in supermarkets are resorting to Greenmarkets due to shortage, and regular customers are increasing their orders just to make sure they have eggs, he said.
“We have developed a relationship with our clients. I know many of them by name and face, ”he said. “And now you are seeing people who have never seen a market attend before. So I’m attracting many new customers to get eggs in the market. “
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