Breakfast is becoming costlier

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, is becoming increasingly costly for Americans as staples like eggs, coffee, beef, and orange juice see steep price hikes.

Key drivers are: plant disease, avian flu, weather disruptions, and supply-chain pressures.

Eggs
The deadliest avian flu outbreak slashed the US laying hen population by 3% or 10 million birds, fueling record prices during the holidays. The average price per dozen eggs is now $5.77, up over 146% from 2023.

Coffee
Weather woes in Brazil and Vietnam have spiked prices for both arabica and robusta beans. Coffee futures rose to a 47-year high in December 2024. The effect trickles down to the price of store-bought coffee, whose costs are up 11% year-over-year.

Bigger coffee chains hedge against price increases by maintaining coffee bean stockpiles.

Orange juice
Another liquid that is pinching Americans’ pockets is orange juice, whose average price has 

surged 90% in the past five years.

Florida, known for its orange groves, had the worst citrus harvests in 90 years after crops were plagued with citrus greening disease. It also sent orange juice futures up 60% in 2023 alone.

Beef
Persistent droughts have led ranchers to shrink cattle herds, pushing ground beef prices up 20% since 2023. The demand remains steady, but raising new cattle takes up to 22 months, affecting prices. The average cost of a pound of store-bought sirloin is $15.09.

Meanwhile, bacon prices are flat from last year and down 6% from 2021. Wheat prices, which surged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, fell 13% in 2023 after rebounding global supplies.