Apr. 2—As a baker and president of the Mankato Farmers' Market, Diane Dunham said she's seen a consistent price drop in eggs over the past couple of months.

Dunham, who runs Market Bakery near St. Peter, typically buys eggs in cases of 90 at Sam's Club.

While she said it can be hit or miss whether what she needs is in stock, the number on the price tag has gone down.

"Closer to three years ago, they were consistently $11 a case at Sam's Club. Last year I was paying up to $34 a case for eggs," she said. "Recently I've seen them over the past month or two be around $20 and stayed there."

For everyday consumers, stores in town are offering deals ahead of the Easter holiday.

Kwik Trip's sale on eggs, priced at $1.99 and limited to two dozen per transaction, runs through April 10.

Monks and Stadium Kwik Trip Store Leader Lucas Novosad said egg prices at the store have held steady, adding that the highest they sold them in recent months was around $4.99.

"We were actually selling eggs under cost for a while, just because we didn't want to extend all of the supply chain issues to our guests," he said. "A lot of our competitors were up over $6 to $8 a dozen for a while."

Nationally, wholesale prices for cartoned shell eggs and graded loose eggs are declining as needs for the anticipated holiday demand are filled, according to the USDA's weekly Egg Markets Overview published on Friday.

The publication said that avian influenza outbreaks that led to production disruptions during the Easter 2022 season have yet to impact the holiday in any significant way this year.

Inventory is also up.

Retail grocery store promotions are less apparent than in recent years, the USDA said in the publication, but some promotions have brought the average price down off $3.19 to $1.75 per dozen, the lowest level for conventional caged shell eggs in 2023 to date.

The average price for UEP-defined cage-free shell eggs is down $0.33 to $3.50 per dozen.

Dunham, who is looking ahead to this year's farmers' market season starting on May 6, said visitors can also anticipate many vendors selling fresh eggs.

"Chicken eggs, duck eggs, there always seem to be lots of fresh eggs available, but you've got to get there early because they do sell out," she said.