Goodbye custard squares as eggs sell for $1 each

Friday, 31 March 2023

Sweet Vanilla Kitchen owner Cheryl McIvor has had to cut back on some dishes because of the lack of eggs.

Baking muffins is now a luxury, and custard squares are off the menu as the skyrocketing price of eggs hits both shoppers and business owners.

An egg shortage following a government ban on battery cages has seen prices soar throughout the country. Data from the Food Price Index revealed the weighted average of a dozen eggs has more than doubled in five years.

Some brands are charging about $1 per egg. At Countdown Crofton Downs in Wellington, a six-pack carton of Otaika Valley free-range eggs cost $6.90, and an 18 egg pack costs $18.70.

Wholesale egg providers are also charging more for less product.

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Sweet Vanilla Kitchen owner Cheryl McIvor said she has switched to using three different egg suppliers each week rather than just one to keep costs down.

McIvor said she first noticed the change in egg prices just before Christmas, when she was told she could only order one box of eggs daily due to a shortage.

The egg trays she orders cost $15.95 plus GST for a tray of 20, when they used to cost about $11.95 for a tray of 30. She calls it a “huge” rise in cost, with the bakery going through “hundreds” of eggs a week.

Going to three different suppliers meant added costs in time and petrol, McIvor said, and Sweet Vanilla Kitchen had been forced to stop making keto custard squares as the recipe used too many eggs.

Despite the added cost, McIvor said she has tried not to raise the prices of her food, as it was hard to explain to customers.

“It's hard to justify sticking your prices out when you know in your heart you're charging too much.”

Flùr owner Sarah Mackenzie said she had noticed the price of eggs had risen, and knew it was hurting businesses. Previously she had been paying approximately 50 cents per egg, and was now paying about 75 cents per egg.

Val Renouf has stopped baking muffins for herself due to the high cost of eggs.

She used about 98 eggs a week, and paid about $50, buying three trays of 30 eggs from Moore Wilson’s.

With cheese and butter also rising in cost, it made a “difficult job already more difficult”.

However, she tried not to raise her prices as her customers were already suffering from the rising cost of living, and she didn’t want them to feel like they couldn’t afford to buy her product.

“It's difficult to know whether to try and recover those costs or not.”

Mum-of-four Rochelle Time is still buying eggs, just fewer than she had before.

When Stuff spoke to shoppers at a Lower Hutt supermarket, the consensus was that the price of eggs had risen dramatically with seemingly no build up – and many beloved meals and recipes had been affected.

Shopper Paulina Godfrey said it was “really crazy” how expensive eggs had become. Godfrey said she had heard that the supermarkets were going to run out of eggs after Easter, which was “not fair”.

Val Renouf had previously loved to bake fruit cakes and muffins for when friends came around – and would also bake for herself. This had now come to an end.

At the supermarket she had purchased a six carton of eggs that cost approximately $5 .

Vinodh Wanigasinghe said he and his wife were abstaining from eggs and saving them for their children’s meals. The eggs he was buying had almost doubled in price, making them an expensive luxury.

While he understood the reasons behind the price increase, Wanigasinghe said the leap had seemed extreme, with no build up.

Mum-of-four Rochelle Time said eggs were still on the shopping list for her and her family, but she bought fewer than before.

Instead of an entire tray of eggs, she was now just purchasing 18 at a time – and from the same free-range brand she had previously been buying from.

While it was goodbye to quiches and bacon and eggs pies, eggs were still a go-to for her children, as they were something easy for them to cook for themselves.

Egg Producers Federation director Michael Brooks had previously told Stuffthatinflation and the cost of new hen housing could cause egg prices to increase this year.

The country currently had about 3.5 million egg laying hens, but needed about 3.8m to assure a constant supply of eggs.