Around 100,000 eggs worth $40,000 were stolen in Pennsylvania, US on Tuesday (Feb 4) from a distribution retailer, CNBC reported. The theft occurred at Pete and Gerry’s Organics LLC in Greencastle, police said in a report. Authorities said they do not have any additional information regarding the matter and that an investigation has been launched.
The egg supplier, in a statement, said it is aware of the incident in Franklin Country and is "actively working" with authorities to probe the matter.
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“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible. Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment any further on this matter," the supplier told CNBC.
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The theft came amid a national egg shortage across the United States. At present, one carton of egg is priced at $7, Bloomberg reported. The hike in egg prices is the result of bird flu spread across the country, which has killed millions of chickens.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, a dozen large eggs are being sold at an average price of $7.08 in wholesale. The price is seven times higher than it was just two years back.
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As many as 104 million egg-laying hens have been killed since the outbreak that started in 2022. From October 2024 itself, around 29 million hens have died, as per the United Egg Producers.
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Amanda Oren, vice president of industry strategy for grocery in North America at supply-chain platform RELEX Solutions told Bloomberg that drugs like Ozempic, which is designed to treat diabetes but widely used for weight loss, are increasing the demand for eggs as a source of protein.
In New York City (NYC), prices of eggs have reached as high as $11.99 for a carton of a dozen cage-free eggs.
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(With inputs from agencies)