Dollar Tree will stop selling eggs because they are too expensive

New York (CNN) Eggs have become too expensive for the dollar tree.

dollar tree (DLTR)which sells most products for $1.25 and a small selection of items for $3 or $5, will stop selling eggs in stores because the company can’t make money by offering them at fixed prices.

Egg prices have skyrocketed due to supply shortages caused by deadly bird flu, high production costs and Egg producers increase their own profits.

Egg costs jumped 38% for producers annually in February and 55% for shoppers, despite higher egg prices. It’s starting to get cheaper. The average price for a dozen large first-class eggs was $4.21 in February, according to data From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most retailers have priced eggs up for customers to adjust to higher costs, but Dollar Tree doesn’t have as much flexibility to raise prices.

“Our base price point at Dollar Tree is $1.25. The cost of eggs is currently very high,” said a company spokesperson. Randy Geller. Dollar Tree, which has about 9,000 stores in the United States, will return the eggs when “costs are more in line with historical levels.”

But it probably won’t be in time for the main egg-buying holiday, Easter, on April 9 this year.

Reuters I first reported that Dollar Tree would stop selling eggs. The Family Dollar Company, which is owned by the Dollar Tree, will continue to sell the eggs.

Shoppers on tight budgets have increasingly turned to dollar food stores.

Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar General, the largest of the three chains, have mushroomed in recent years and added more food staples, though the fresh and healthy options are limited. Dollar stores are Fastest growing food retailers in America, according to a Tufts University study released this year.

Dollar Tree used to sell cartons of eight or six eggs for one dollar. In 2021, Dollar Tree has announced that it will To raise prices to $1.25 because selling everything for $1 was stressing business.

David D’Arezzo, a former executive at Dollar General and other retailers who now works as an industry consultant, said Dollar Tree also made the decision to pull eggs because it has a poor hiring model for stores. He said workers who change egg price tags every week to account for wild fluctuations in the market will be an added strain on the store’s operations.

D’Arezzo said the chain caters to low- and middle-income customers and doesn’t want to offer eggs at sticker shock prices to damage its price reputation with shoppers.