NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Higher prices at the grocery store are hitting us all hard and the soaring cost of eggs is making that morning omelet a little harder to swallow.
Last January, the cost of a dozen eggs was less than $2, now the average price is around $6.
The USDA said it's not just the Avian flu that's pushing wholesale prices to record highs. About 60 million birds are gone because of the disease so far. Farmers across the country are having to destroy entire flocks of chickens if they test positive. Higher prices for transportation, feed and energy for producers are also forcing prices to rise.
Families at home aren't the only ones feeling the pain, local restaurants are suffering too. One Kentucky business owner wants prices to be capped because it's getting out of hand.
It used to cost Winchell's11 cents per egg to buy in bulk, now it's quadruple that.
"We can't just raise the price every week like that. Maybe annually? Take a look at it if it looks like something's going to stay where it is, then we really have to assess it," said Winchell's owner Graham Waller.
While farmers are doing what they can to make up for lost flocks, experts said prices won't be dropping anytime soon.
