Why eggs cost so much in Miami — if you can find them — and what's next for shoppers
When Waffle House makes a move, you know it's serious.
Hurricane-weary Floridians know all about the Waffle House Index, the barometer the chain uses to determine whether to shut its restaurants if they feel a major storm's chances of visiting are more than likely. This past week, the chain, which has more than 190 of its 2,015 restaurants in Florida, turned its attention to another crisis: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. That's bird flu.
The egg crisis also is causing higher prices and empty shelves at South Florida grocery stores.
Bare shelves at the supermarket
Pop into your local Publix, Aldi, Winn-Dixie, Presidente, Sedano's and you'll find the refrigerated egg racks are often as bare as toilet paper shelves were during the first year of the COVID pandemic in 2020. And when you do find a few cartons of Grade A eggs, you'll be paying more.
Agriculture experts predict egg prices may continue to climb by double-digit percentages well into 2025.
Publix gets its eggs from suppliers and industry partners, Lindsey Willis, the Lakeland-based chain's media manager said in an email to the Miami Herald.
'Many factors go into food prices — transportation and handling costs, and packaging,' she said.
Waffle House has to get its eggs from suppliers, too, and aren't immune to the challenge consumers are facing.
The breakfast diner announced that customers can expect to pay an extra 50 cents per egg due to soaring prices. The reason is another bout of avian bird flu that has decimated flocks of birds, some 20 million or more nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Florida egg prices
A wave of bird flu began in February 2022 that led to the depopulation of over 44 million laying hens, the USDA reported. The national average Consumer Index price for a dozen Grade A eggs peaked at $4.82 in January 2023, while South Florida grocers trended higher — a Publix egg carton of a dozen was $5.89 at a Kendall-area store that month.
This past week, that same Publix in the Palms Town & Country Mall off Kendall Drive, had cartons of its large Grade A eggs selling for $5.49. The national average in December 2024 was $4.25. In February it's at $6.55 per dozen, according to Mashed.
Jumbos at the Kendall Publix were $5.79 this week. Extra large eggs were $8.12.
'Like many retailers, we are experiencing shortages on eggs due to the avian bird flu, which has created a rise in egg demand,' Publix's Willis said on Wednesday. 'As a result, items in this section have limited availability. We are working to bring these products back as soon as possible. We encourage customers to check back regularly, as our stores are receiving routine deliveries.'
Cutting back on shopping
At a nearby Fresco y Mas in the TJ Maxx Plaza at 7480 SW 117th Ave. near Kendall Drive, large Grade A Crystal Springs eggs were $5.99. Jumbos were $8.59.
Customer Jorge Torres found a carton from a relatively well-stocked Fresco y Mas selection on a Tuesday afternoon. He said he understood why eggs were pricier and scarce.
'Chickens and hens, they got an illness. So many are dying. Not a lot of quantity,' Torres said.
Torres says he is shopping around. He's also buying eggs less frequently and has noted it's not just eggs slimming our billfolds.
'Cheese is getting more expensive,' he said as he nodded toward the dairy cooler. 'Prices are not stable. Up. Down. But right now it's up because of the chickens and hens.
'I'm not coming every day. Twice a week. Maybe just the weekend,' Torres added. 'I was over there in Presidente and it was similar. I said I'd go to Fresco. I want to see how is it? It's very similar.'
Prices and availability
A visit Tuesday to an Aldi in the Hammocks neighborhood at 13801 SW 120th St. saw one lonely, battered carton of eggs oozing its precious yellow contents onto a cooler's shelf. The only thing keeping the scrambled carton company was a sign on the cooler door noting the price of a dozen large Grade A Goldhen Eggs: $4.67.
Atop the price sticker affixed to the glass cooler door was Aldi's notice: 'Due to recent market conditions, egg prices have increased. We apologize for any inconvenience.'
A spacious Winn-Dixie on Coral Way at 3275 SW 22nd St. on Wednesday afternoon had egg shelves pockmarked with empty spaces. But the shortages here were supplemented by a refrigerated cooler in another aisle adjacent to the frozen foods section festooned top to bottom with $7.39 Crystal Spring Grade A large eggs. A 2.5 dozen package was $17.89.
Extra Large and Jumbo cartons of 12 in the main section went for $8.79 apiece. Mediums were $6.59 at this store in the Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie chain.
Signs still told the tale: 'Due to ongoing national supply chain issues with eggs you may see limited or no availability in the egg variety available at your local Winn-Dixie. We assure you we are doing all that we can to keep our shelves stocked while we await a return to normal market conditions.'
Nationwide egg price forecast
Retail egg prices increased by 8.4% in December. Two months into 2025, prices continue to remain volatile, according to the USDA.
The forecast ahead is not encouraging. Egg prices are predicted to increase more than 20% in 2025, according to the USDA.
The cost problem is more acute in some states. Mashed reports that California, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan require that all eggs sold within their borders are laid by cage-free hens, a more humane way of housing the birds on farms. Cage-free eggs also tend to be more expensive.
Florida does not mandate cage-free standards but several cities including Hollywood, West Palm Beach and New Port Richey have passed resolutions condemning 'battery cages' that keep hens grouped in rows of barbed wire cages, according to the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.
Egg crisis affect on human health
'It's horrible,' said Phil Lempert, a national grocery industry analyst known as the Supermarket Guru. 'Here in Los Angeles the price of a dozen eggs is now over $8, and I'm sure you saw the Waffle House 50 cents surcharge on each egg? It's going to get worse. Now that it has spread to other animals and humans, it's a very serious problem.'
On Jan. 6, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first human death from avian flu after an unnamed patient was admitted to a hospital in Louisiana suffering from the disease. 'A death from H5N1 bird flu in the United States is not unexpected because of the known potential for infection with these viruses to cause severe illness and death,' the CDC noted.
As of that date, there have been 66 confirmed human cases of this H5N1 strain of bird flu in the United States since 2024 and 67 since 2022. None have been reported in Florida. Outside the United States, more than 950 cases have been reported to the World Health Organization. About half of those stricken have died. Unlike COVID, there is no vaccine to prevent bird flu.
And there are other worries.
'There are over 42 million Americans on SNAP food assistance and for many of them eggs are their primary source of protein and they now can't afford to get it — so looming is a health problem because of the lack of protein,' Lempert said. 'Coupled with what's going on at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FDA I fear that we will not be able to have a vaccine and this could be worse than COVID. It has infected and, in the case of dairy herds and poultry flocks, mass culling.'
In November 2024, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported the most recent avian influenza mortality event in the state of three birds — a wood duck, green-winged teal and ring-necked duck in Leon County.
Since January 2022, cases of avian influenza in various species of birds have been confirmed in 35 Florida counties including in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Brevard, Orange, Indian River, Martin and Manatee, according to the state agency.
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