Senior Managing Editor’s Note: Matt Badiali is traveling this week to look into exciting new investment opportunities. He’ll have a new article for you next week. — Jocelynn Smith
Consumers will spend more this year on Easter thanks to a hidden cost in their grocery bill.
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) released findings from its 2018 Marketbasket Survey.
The survey aims to track the changes in the price of a basket of common grocery items. This includes things like bread, chicken breasts and shredded cheese, just to name a few.
Cheap grain and fuel costs in 2017 saw favorable prices for many grocery items. For example, consumers enjoyed a 7% savings in bread and a 6% drop in the price of whole milk from last year.
However, overall, groceries had a 2% increase in cost from last year, mainly caused by one item…
Eggs!
The cost of eggs is up 37% from last year! That puts the national price for a dozen eggs at $1.80.
Take a look at this chart comparing the cost of eggs this year with historical prices:
The cost of eggs is soaring this year!
U.S. egg prices are climbing higher thanks to increased demand at home and abroad.
Domestic demand for eggs is growing despite higher prices. Forecasts have Americans consuming 279 eggs per person this year. That will be the highest amount on recent record!
The World Is Hungry for Eggs
Exports to Asia and Europe are on the rise because of decreased production from the bird flu. Attempts to stop the spread of the bird flu has hampered production. Millions of birds have been quarantined or culled to stop the spread.
The U.S. saw over 40 million birds culled in 2015 during the bird flu outbreak. Since then, infections have been minimal in the U.S., leading to increased demand for our poultry and eggs. Exports of eggs are already up 50% in the last year.
However, consumers don’t have to worry about prices soaring too much higher. The Department of Agriculture expects producers to increase flock size in response to higher demand. Simple supply and demand economics at work!
Your Easter Stock Picks
To capture the growing demand for American eggs, consider major poultry producers like Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. (Nasdaq: PPC) or Sanderson Farms Inc. (Nasdaq: SAFM).
Good investing,
Anthony Planas
Internal Analyst, Banyan Hill Publishing