National Egg Shortage Affecting Louisiana Prices

How do you like yours? Fried, Sunny Side Up? Scrambled? Omelet? No matter which way you prefer your eggs chances are you are paying a little more for the privilege of waking up to a plate of them.

The price of eggs has nearly doubled over the past couple of months. That is due to a nationwide shortage of eggs. This shortage of eggs has been a direct result of an avian flu virus that has affected producers, mainly in the  Midwest.

Louisiana Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Mike Strain,

says that prices in grocery stores have gone up from $1.19 per dozen in late April to $2.03 per dozen. Those figures represent the national averages. Strain told the Louisiana Radio Network,

They are going to be more expensive to buy. A number of restaurants are already cutting back on the number of hours they serve breakfast.

He believes the higher prices will affect the market for at least another 6 months as animal health officials develop a plan to deal with this avian flu.  Strain does not believe the current situation will become dire by any means. While some 44 million birds have had to be destroyed in this flu epidemic so far. Strain does not believe that the United States will run out of eggs.