Kansas bakery shop owner goes from paying $19 for case of eggs to $97: 'It's brutal'

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KABC) -- You've probably noticed the price of eggs at your local grocery store has skyrocketed - that's if you can even find a carton.

The shortage is posing a massive dilemma for consumers all across the country, but a bakery shop owner in Kansas said his business is taking a hit.

"The price of sugar is up about 60% to 70%, flour is up. It's at 80%," said Robert Duensing, who owns the Best Regards bakery shop in Overland Park, Kansas.

Due to the recent economic inflation, Duensing has been struggling to get the basics, including flour, sugar and eggs.

In 2021, he said he was paying around $17 for a case of eggs. His most recent order cost $97.

In the year through November, not adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices jumped 49%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Since early this year, a deadly avian flu has been reducing poultry flocks - specifically turkeys and egg-laying hens. That's one reason for the unrelenting increase in prices. But the situation has been exacerbated by elevated feed and energy costs for producers, in addition to high demand in the supermarket.

Duensing said his suppliers told him the flu and transportation issues have been the main reasons behind the shortage.

He's even had to drop certain items from his menu.

"Cream puffs and eclairs. We'd have to sell them for $12 each, and I'm just not going to do that," Duensing said. Instead, he said he and his staff are focusing on items that take fewer eggs to make.

He admits it's been painful watching the price of eggs increase dramatically. At one point, he even looked into getting his own chickens. Unfortunately, he said that isn't quite practical.

"I'd have to have 1,200 chickens have enough eggs on a weekly basis," Duensing said.

Experts think that the peak has passed, but until these conditions improve, expect to pay more for eggs in the grocery store.

CNN contributed to this report.