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If you haven't noticed, the price we're paying for a carton of eggs in Minnesota has skyrocketed lately and is now even more than we're paying for a gallon of gasoline. Here's why they're so expensive.

We've all heard the phrase 'thanks to the pandemic,' a ton over the past two years. Disruptions caused by the pandemic have caused all sorts of weird things to happen, from labor shortages to higher prices.

But the current high price of eggs here in Minnesota and across the country hasn't necessarily been caused by our two-year bout with Covid. Sure, egg prices are high right now. So high, in fact, that prices for eggs here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes have more than doubled since last year, and the national average has topped $3 a dozen for only the second time ever.

This Fox-9 TV story shows just how much those prices have taken off, noting:

A dozen extra-large eggs in Midwestern grocery stores are costing nearly $5 wholesale right now — up from $1.60 at the same time last year.

In fact, here in Minnesota, the USDA said that the average price for a dozen grade-A extra-large eggs for the week of January 9th, 2023 was $4.68. (According to their website, egg prices at Hy-Vee are closer to $4.99 or higher per dozen.)

Food Inflation Continues To Increase With Eggs Costing 38% More Than A Year Ago
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Meanwhile, AAA Minnesota said that the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was just $3.13 a gallon statewide (though it's closer to $3.27 or $3.29 in Rochester) making a gallon of gas nearly $1.50 cheaper than a dozen eggs right now! When was the last time THAT has happened?

So if it's not the pandemic, then what's to blame for those soaring egg prices? Well, Fox 9 said we can point our fingers at another infectious disease that's ravaged flocks of egg-breeding chickens: the avian flu.

That outbreak of the bird flu hit egg producers hard last spring and caused millions of chickens to be put down to try to curb the spread of the disease. The result, of course, is fewer eggs on the market, which has sent prices soaring.

The story said other factors, like soaring feed, fuel and labor costs, have only compounded the problem and added to the increasing price, as well.

Some analysts say that prices should start to fall in the coming weeks as producers replenish their stock, but that, thanks to inflation, prices will still be higher than we're used to seeing at the store.

And while Minnesota isn't one of the top egg-producing states in the country, there are still a LOT of legendary foods that call the North Star State home. Keep scrolling to check them out!

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