Eggnog Blog

Tis’ the season for a lot of things, eggnog being one of them.  This seasonal delight faces pressure from both the supply and demand curves in 2024.  The demand side is easy.  More of the egg-milk punch is consumed now than in the summer, so producers expect demand to pull prices up, all else equal.  This allows poultry farmers to make hay while the sun is less likely to be shining.  But this year the supply side of the equation faces a particular challenge: bird flu.

Egg prices are soaring compared to this time last year.  According to this CNBC article, eggs are now 38 percent more expensive than in 2023!  Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows they rose eight percent in the month of November alone.  A carton of large Grade A eggs set Americans back an average $3.65 last month, up from $2.14 a year ago.  That’s a whopping 70.5 percent crack in the budget.

Egg demand goes into high gear around November.  It is tough to have pumpkin pie without eggs.  Then the calendar hands off egg demand to other seasonal delights.  Cookies and latkes come to mind.  So far, there haven’t been any reports about actual shortages of eggnog, but prices are sure to be pressuring producers’ margins or impacting sales.  There is relief coming, however.  We’re nearing the end of the holiday season.  Shifting demand should be helpful for the price of this food staple as eggnog and desserts are shelved by resolutions and hopes of sticking to them.