Whether you like them scrambled, poached, or raw like Rocky Balboa, one yolky Canadian grocery staple is about to get cheaper. Though not as cheap as they could be.
What happened: Egg Farmers of Ontario, the board that sets prices for 40% of all Canadian eggs, is planning to lower the price of a dozen eggs by 14 cents later this month. But consumers will only see savings totalling 4 cents per carton.
Wait, how does that happen? Seven weeks after the price cut takes effect, Burnbrae Farms, Canada’s largest egg processor, will raise its prices by 10 cents to account for rising costs throughout the egg supply chain, like labour, packaging, fuel, heat, power, and maintenance.
Why it matters: Canada’s egg price saga shows us just how hard it is to get inflation under control. Even when farmers pull back on their prices, the sticker price at the grocery store doesn’t necessarily drop accordingly due to the price complexities of getting things from the farm to the shelves.
- Ultimately, if farmers and processors aren’t aligned on pricing, shoppers lose out. Food researcher Sylvain Charlebois told The Star, “There seems to be a tug of war going on within the supply chain, and consumers are the ones who will fall victim.”
Zoom out: A drop in egg prices would be a welcome relief, considering they’re one of the food items that’s been most affected by inflation. As of November, egg prices increased 16.7% year-over-year, meanings prices have gone up more than things like fruit and meat.