Egg prices slip just in time for Easter and Passover

Good news for price-conscious Easter egg hunters this year – eggs are cheap.

According to analysis conducted by American Farm Bureau Federation economists, a surplus of eggs have caused retail prices to slip even during one of the peak demand seasons during Easter and Passover.

“At 79 cents per dozen, retail egg prices showed a moderate price decline two weeks prior to Easter, rather than the normal seasonal bump,” Michael Nepveux, an economist for American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said.

In March, wholesale large egg prices average 93 cents per dozen, a 56 percent decline compared to a year ago.

Will Rodger of AFBF added that egg prices a few years back were much higher after the industry lost more than 50 million chickens and turkeys linked to the Bird Flu outbreak between December 2014 and June 2015.

“In all, we lost around 12 percent of egg laying chickens during that time. Prices went as high as $4.50 a dozen for a week or so,” Rodger told FOX Business.

But the industry recovered pretty quickly after the influenza with many farmers ramping up productions of eggs, causing prices to drop to around 90 cents a dozen from 2016-2017.

Since then wholesale egg prices have remained relatively low at about 80 cents a dozen with only a few price spikes throughout the last two years.

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“We don’t know where consumer demand may head, but prices are about a third lower than the average of the past five years. That means a lot of eggs for consumers, and tighter margins for farmers,” Rodger added.

In Christianity, traditionally Easter eggs are eggs that are decorated and sometimes given as gifts in the form of chocolate. In Judaism, at Passover a hard-boiled egg is often placed on the ceremonial plate and eaten dipped in salt water.