Extraordinary scenes of panic buying at Costco amid rising prices show customers rushing to stockpile eggs.
Video captured by several customers and posted to social media showed shoppers piling their carts to the brim with cartons of two dozen eggs.
In another clip, customers were seen fighting one another in scenes reminiscent from Black Friday – only instead of prized electronics, the product was poultry.
Across the nation, similar scenarios have unfolded as consumers grapple with a significant egg shortage.
Bird flu is spreading across the United States, causing egg prices to soar and availability to plummet.
Egg prices are likely to remain high past Easter and well into 2025, largely because of it.
More than 150 million poultry birds have been killed across all 50 states since 2022 in an attempt to combat a strain of bird flu known as H5N1.
The number of birds affected by the virus has been rising in recent months, with roughly 7 million affected in November, 18 million in December, and 23 million in January, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
There have been extraordinary scenes of panic buying at Costco as prices continue to rise
Video captured by one customers and posted to social media showed several shoppers piling their carts to the brim with cartons of two dozen eggs
But other factors are also causing supply constraints and driving up prices, such as skyrocketing consumer demand.
Costco prices are particularly attractive where costs can be as low as $7.53 for 24 eggs.
One witness who posted the video noted how an entire pallet of eggs was completely empty within 10 minutes of being brought out onto the shop floor.
Some of those commenting were appalled by the antics – and while a few suggested customers may have businesses that required a lot of eggs, others believed the mass purchases were simply to resell and turn a quick profit.
‘My Costco had a 3 carton limit today. They were running out at about noon,’ wrote one.
‘They cannot hoard the eggs as they would go bad before they could eat that many. So unless they own a bakery or restaurant they won’t use those eggs themselves. Chances are they are reselling them at a higher price… like people tried to do with hand sanitizer during the pandemic. Some were charged with crimes for that,’ explained another.
‘What even is the point of buying that many eggs? This is absurd,’ added another outraged viewer.
In another video posted online, two men were seen brawling in the aisles with one another over the staple food item.
Costco prices are particularly attractive where prices can be as low as $7.53 for 24 eggs
Egg prices are soaring across the country, and are set to climb even further this year
A sign hangs on an empty shelf in a natural food store last month, in Denver
The situation has led to calls by some shoppers for purchase limits to be put in place so there’s enough to go around.
Earlier this week Waffle House put a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place because of the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade.
The 24-7 restaurant said that the resulting egg shortage has led to a dramatic increase in its costs.
Farmers have been forced to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023.
The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20 percent this year.
The Waffle House, a reliable source of a cheap breakfast, said that its egg surcharge became effective this week and that it applies to all of its menus.
The restaurant’s two-egg breakfast, which comes with toast and a side, was listed at $7.75 on Tuesday.
‘While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,’ the company said.
Earlier this week Waffle House put a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place because of the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade
The Waffle House, a reliable source of a cheap breakfast, said that its egg surcharge became effective this week and that it applies to all of its menus
In December, the first U.S. human fatality linked bird flu was reported in Louisiana. There have been 67 confirmed bird flu infections of humans in the U.S. since 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The H5N1 bird flu has been spreading widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Its growing presence in the environment increases the chances that people will be exposed, and potentially catch it, officials have said, though it remains rare.
Health officials urge anyone who has contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry.
