(NewsNation) — As egg prices continue to soar throughout the U.S., a holiday tradition for many is set to become more expensive.
Easter egg dye kit manufacturers are facing the same problem is just about everyone else at the grocery store: eggs are hard to find, and the ones that are available are expensive.
NBC News reports that Natural Earth Paint, a company that manufactures natural art supplies and craft kits for kids, typically sells between 40,000 and 50,000 egg dye kits around the Easter holiday. So far this year, the company’s retail partners have ordered only 7,000 kits.
Egg prices have nearly doubled in the last six weeks, with the average cost of a dozen cracking $8 last week, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture.
The average egg price is now at $8.03 per dozen, up from a previous price of $7.74 per dozen reported in the USDA’s Egg Markets Overview on February 14.
The Trump administration is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu that stresses vaccinations and tighter biosecurity instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes a flock.
Normally when chickens or turkeys start dying from the disease, officials will “depopulate,” or destroy all the birds on the farm to prevent it from spreading.
But the resulting culling of millions of chickens per month has caused egg prices to skyrocket, with shortages that have led some retailers to ration sales. The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs in U.S. cities hit $4.95 in January, and the USDA predicts it will soar another 20% this year.
The poultry industry has long resisted vaccinating flocks against bird flu because of the potential impacts on export markets, as well as the expense. Most U.S. trading partners won’t accept exports from countries that allow vaccinations due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus.