High mainland egg prices keep demand on Hawaii farms

HONOLULU (KHON2) — You may have noticed that the price of eggs at the grocery store is still skyrocketing. Restaurants are also taking a hit, with everything from breakfast to baked goods being affected.

according to business insiderThe cost of eggs in Hawaii is the highest in the country by a wide margin at $9.73 per dozen.

A local restaurant said they are using about 5,000 eggs per week at their two locations.

“We’re looking at alternative options, maybe tweaking the menu a little bit to highlight some different ingredients and different items. Of course it’s always important to use local,” said Keola Warren, owner of Mox Bread & Breakfast. The focus is on trying.

Hawaii has been fortunate to avoid cases of bird flu, which has hit chickens hard on the mainland, causing egg prices to soar across the United States.

“Restaurants are reporting that the price of eggs has doubled. And restaurants that were buying from local farms have also seen a slight increase and it’s not due to the flu,” said Sherrill Matsuoka, executive director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.

Shipping feed to Hawaii has driven up prices, he said, as has increased demand for locally produced eggs.

Zippi said they use exclusively local eggs and have seen prices rise, but not as much as mainland eggs.

“We’ve seen the cost of eggs increase by about 14%, but we’re just absorbing that cost,” said Kevin Yim, Zippy’s vice president of marketing and communications. “We’re going to absorb that cost at some point, although we may need to make a modest price increase,”

The emphasis is on more local egg production.

On Kauai, Malama Kauai’s Poultry Egg Education Project (PEEP) is encouraging farmers to add chicken eggs to their farms, with some promising results.

“We are selling more than 100 dozen eggs per week in our market. We’re selling out,” said Malama Kauai program manager Annie Caporuccio. “So it’s great to have this nutritious product for our community. We’re a snappable market so it goes to those who benefit most from fresh food. But it also creates this economic vitality for our farmers.

Warren says these supply crises should spur investment in local food sources.

“As far as food shortages go, it could be the first of many things. So we really have to invest locally and try to make sure that we can survive on the island, and be able to grow our local Support the farmers. It’s more than just a cliché.