Demand skyrocketing for local eggs
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii owner Iris Shimabukuro helped customers on Wednesday in Honolulu.
1 /4 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii owner Iris Shimabukuro helped customers on Wednesday in Honolulu.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Customers lined up outside the store, which was offering a tray of 20 jumbo white eggs for $12.75. Purchases were limited to one tray per customer.
2 /4 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Customers lined up outside the store, which was offering a tray of 20 jumbo white eggs for $12.75. Purchases were limited to one tray per customer.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM More and more local customers are turning to local eggs as the nationwide shortage due to bird flu has continued to decimate entire poultry flocks. Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helped customers Wednesday in Honolulu.
3 /4 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM More and more local customers are turning to local eggs as the nationwide shortage due to bird flu has continued to decimate entire poultry flocks. Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helped customers Wednesday in Honolulu.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helps customers at Eggs Hawaii on Wednesday.
4 /4 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helps customers at Eggs Hawaii on Wednesday.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii owner Iris Shimabukuro helped customers on Wednesday in Honolulu.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Customers lined up outside the store, which was offering a tray of 20 jumbo white eggs for $12.75. Purchases were limited to one tray per customer.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM More and more local customers are turning to local eggs as the nationwide shortage due to bird flu has continued to decimate entire poultry flocks. Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helped customers Wednesday in Honolulu.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Eggs Hawaii associate Nita Ongsico, right, helps customers at Eggs Hawaii on Wednesday.
RELATED PHOTO GALLERY Demand for local eggs in Hawaii has skyrocketed as a shortage persists across the U.S. due to continual outbreaks of bird flu.
On Oahu, lines have been forming at places like Island Fresh Eggs, a shop in Kalihi where customers can buy eggs straight from a local farm in Waianae at competitive prices.
The shop is run by Eggs Hawaii, which also sells Ka Lei and Hawaiian Maid brand eggs at supermarkets. On Wednesday, the shop was offering a tray of 20 jumbo white eggs for $12.75. A tray of 30 'checks ' with minor damage was $10.
Eggs Hawaii is limiting purchases to one tray per customer.
The same is happening on Oahu's North Shore, where people line up early at what's known as the 'Farm Store, ' set up at the entrance to Villa Rose Egg Farm on Kaukonahua Road.
The farm sells its Waialua Fresh brand eggs starting at 8 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, while supplies last. A tray of 30 'check eggs ' is just $7. The eggs are also sold to local distributors and major supermarkets throughout Hawaii.
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'We're seeing demand skyrocket, mostly because the supply chain is so shattered from the mainland, ' said Waialua Fresh Manager Avery Barry. 'Eggs from the mainland are not coming in anymore. It puts a lot of pressure on us, being one of the few remaining in the local supply chain.'
While some customers were willing to pay a higher price to buy local eggs previously, many are now flocking to these outlets in search of bargains as supply from the U.S. continent grows ever tighter. The gap in prices for local and mainland eggs is also closing, according to a recent market report from the state Department of Agriculture.
Barry said a noticeable uptick in demand began in about November, and he gets numerous calls from restaurants in search of eggs. The customers that line up at the Farm Store used to come from Wahiawa and the surrounding area but now drive from as far as Hawaii Kai.
Due to the increased demand, Waialua Fresh—the largest of four remaining egg farms on Oahu—is looking to add four more barns to its farm to increase its flock size and production. Currently, the farm has 10 barns and produces about 300, 000 eggs daily.
'This is definitely a good time to show people why it's so important to shop local, ' he said. 'If they can support us, we can grow and we can fill these demands, and over time get big enough to not be so reliant on the mainland.'
At many local supermarkets, shelves in the egg section are often bare, and some are to two cartons each.
TO DATE, no commercial poultry flocks in Hawaii have experienced outbreaks of H5N1, or highly pathogenic avian influenza.
In November, Hawaii became the last U.S. state to confirm H5N1 in birds due to an outbreak in a backyard flock of ducks and geese at Susie's Duck Sanctuary in Wahiawa. Some sanctuary ducks adopted by a family in the also tested positive.
That same month, a wild duck swabbed at the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge in November also tested positive for H5N1 but exhibited no symptoms.
Despite wastewater detections in Hilo on Hawaii island and in Lihue, Kauai, the state has reported no bird flu outbreaks on those two isles.
Across the U.S., millions of commercial poultry birds have been decimated by H5N1, including those culled during outbreaks. Since January, more than 25 million birds have been affected, and outbreaks continue to occur on a regular basis.
The state Department of Agriculture has urged poultry farms and backyard chicken owners to increase to protect their animals from the virus.
These include minimizing traffic on premises, protecting flocks from contact with wild birds by keeping them inside, and offering workers disposable coveralls and boots that can be disinfected.
Barry said Waialua Fresh, which is a free-range farm, has had strict protocols in place, even before the U.S. bird flu outbreak began in 2022.
Only employees are allowed on the farm, he said, and all are required to shower upon entering and exiting. Shoes and tires are disinfected. Even truck drivers are not allowed to step out of their vehicles while on the farm.
Barry said it is a worrisome situation and that any recovery would be long term, given the time it takes to repopulate a farm and grow chicks that could hatch eggs again.
EGG PRICES both in Hawaii and on the mainland have increased due to constant demand amid lower supplies. Local egg prices have increased less, though, and are now closer to mainland egg prices, which have been consistently lower.
The HDOA market analysis and news branch recently reported that the benchmark price for a dozen large, locally produced eggs in December rose to $8.87, a 2.7 % increase from $8.64 in December 2023.
The benchmark price for a dozen large, mainland eggs during the same time was at $8.35 per dozen, a 5.2 % increase from $7.94 the previous year.
'Notably, the price gap between local and mainland eggs continued to narrow, decreasing to 6.2 % in 2024 from 8.8 % in the same reference period in 2023, ' said HDOA in a news release. 'During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the price gap was significantly higher at 25.6 %.'
From 2021 to 2024, HDOA said retail egg prices in Honolulu increased 28.4 % for a carton of 12 eggs, and 34 % for a carton of 18 eggs. During that same time, however, mainland egg prices increased 51.8 % for a dozen and 78.3 % for a carton of 18 eggs.
Kevin Yim, vice president of marketing for Zippy's, said the popular restaurant chain has always purchased local eggs.
Zippy's has a long-standing, decades-long relationship with Eggs Hawaii, he said, and is grateful to be able to still get a consistent, local supply.
'All of our shell eggs, we buy 100 % local from Eggs Hawaii, ' Yim said. 'Our founders wanted to buy local because they believed supporting local would come back to us. It's about supporting our neighbors. When you buy local, you're supporting a sustainable system.'
Thus far, Zippy's has not had to raise menu item prices for its customers in Hawaii.
Zippy's has one store in Las Vegas, with a second one expected to open in March. The Las Vegas Zippy's has had to pay higher prices for eggs, he said, but so far has not passed the extra cost along to customers.
Yim noted that some restaurants are now adding 'egg surcharges.'
'Honestly, we'll have to continuously monitor the situation and make sure we can still make a profit by serving eggs, ' he said. 'As of now, everything seems to be fine.'—Egg prices—Local eggs 2024 : $8.87 /dozen (up 2.7 % from 2023 )----Mainland eggs 2024 : $8.35 /dozen (up 5.2 % from 2023 )----Price gap local vs. mainland in 2024 : 6.2 %—Price gap local vs. mainland in 2023 : 8.8 %—Price gap local vs. mainland in 2022 : 5.7 %—Price gap local vs. mainland in 2021 : 25.6 %
Source : State Department of Agriculture Market Analysis and News Branch —Benchmark prices for a dozen large eggs in December
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