US restaurant chains Denny’s and Waffle House have eliminated surcharges on eggs due to a decline in prices, which soared earlier this year. The surcharge, added in February due to the bird flu outbreak, had varied by location for Denny’s. Both restaurants removed the fee after the average price of eggs dropped to $4.55 per dozen in May, the lowest since December.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a record high price of $6.23 per dozen in March, driven by outbreaks of bird flu in January and February that killed over 174 million birds. The surge in egg prices led to increased imports from countries such as Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, Turkey, and South Korea, with the US importing more than 26 million dozen shell eggs since January.
The government has also helped farms pay for biosecurity upgrades, with nearly 1,000 assessments completed. However, Secretary Brooke Rollins warned that the fall in egg prices could be “potentially challenging” for producers as wild birds can spread the avian flu virus during their migrations.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/eggs-prices-surcharges-dennys-waffle-house-66a0a15500d89b504dea4fec623933b1