The skyrocketing price of eggs has shoppers (and eateries) choosing local

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The price of eggs is through the roof.

And that’s driving up demand for local eggs, which are now competitively priced against their mainland counterparts.

Instacart recently reported that the price of a dozen eggs has soared 54% over the last year. Unsurprisingly, the cost of eggs was highest in Hawaii, where a dozen eggs can set you back up to $9.73.

With egg prices so high, some are looking for alternatives, like Waialua Fresh.

Because the demand for eggs is so high, they’ve added another day for sales. The producer has also seen lots of new faces swing by the farm.

Stacy Peiler is one of them. She said rising prices led to her interest in the farm.

“It’s ridiculous, I can’t believe the prices (along) with everything else,” said Peiler. “So for $4 a flat, you can’t go wrong.”

Waialua Fresh is selling checked eggs, which have weaker shells and possible hairline cracks.

But Torres said they’re still safe and can last as long as 45 days. They’re only sold at the farm and not to retailers.

With demand for eggs up, Waialua Fresh is expediting plans to build more barns.

“We’re currently building six more barns so it just takes time,” said Avery Barry, from the sales department of Waialua Fresh. “We wish we could have had them built before all this happened.”

Barry added that the farms costs are going up, too.

“We’re not immune to like inflation so our carton costs and feed costs has gone up ... so we have had a few price increases.”

Eateries like L&L are also trying to cope with the sticker shock.

“So it used to be about, you know $70, $80 per case, it’s about 360 eggs, but then right now, it went up a $179 to $200,” said Vice Presidents and Chief Operating Officer of L&L Andy Huang.

While loco menu is staying on the menu, some other dishes might soon be gone.

L&L’s VP said the chain is also considering buying local because of costs.

And it’s not the only restaurant that may make the change.

“We probably get a couple calls a day, from different restaurants asking if they can swing by and pick up,” said Barry.

“We’re helping out as much as we can.”

The Hawaii Restaurant Association anticipates relief from the avian outbreak, which is driving the shortage of eggs nationally, by either the spring or summer.

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