You may have noticed: the dozen eggs has not been under discount for months at the grocery store, when there were formerly specials almost every week. Here are three reasons that can explain it.
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You have to go back to the week of October 23, 2024 to find a discount on the eggs in a maximum circular, according to a search carried out by 24 hours. The dozen eggs was then displayed at $ 2.44.
Since January, the average price for the dozen eggs has been $ 4.94 in Canada, according to data from the analytical science laboratory in Dalhousie University. It is 12% more than last year.
In Quebec, it’s worse: the dozen eggs sells for an average of $ 4.67 (+28% compared to 2024).
We dissect for you the three reasons which can explain that the discounts are also rare on this product.
1. avian flu hatching
“There is avian flu which has struck hard in certain regions [au Canada]which has increased costs, ”says the director of the analytical science laboratory in food and professor at Dalhousie University, Sylvain Charlebois.
You should know that as soon as a case of avian flu is detected on a farm, all the hens must be shot.
“When a farm has to relaunch its production, it still takes time. This farm does not contribute to the offer for a certain period, so it decreases the inventory, ”he specifies.
2. Rising production costs
The prices of grains used to feed the chickens and the workforce necessary to operate the farms have increased, notes the specialist in the food industry.
“If it costs the producer more, it costs the consumer more dear in the end,” he says.
3. The management of the offer is more rigid
In Canada, egg production is governed by the supply management system. What that means is that producers are sure to offer a stable egg supply to the Canadian population with the aim of stabilizing prices and limiting imports.
In the last months, the quantities of laying hens have been reduced, which limits the surplus of eggs, explains Sylvain Charlebois.
If producers have less surplus to sell, they have no interest in selling their eggs at a discount, the professor continues. This is what could explain, at least in part, that the eggs have been sold at regular prices for as long in grocery stores.
The question that arises now: why did you want to tackle the surplus?
To balance the price of eggs across the country and limit the effects that an avian influenza (or other challenges) fluid hatches on the market, maintains Mr. Charlebois. We also want to prevent the price from fluctuates too often, as in the United States in the last months.
The teacher gives the following example to better understand: there is a shortage of eggs in British Columbia because of avian flu hatching. To meet the demand, eggs are sent from Alberta to British Columbia. In such a context, prices would tend to increase in Alberta, where the supply of eggs would be greatly reduced. But since the prices are standardized from one province to another, the effects would be roughly zero for the consumer.