Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — McDonald’s Egg McMuffin and other morning items that will be available all-day starting Oct. 6 may put pressure on already high egg prices and short supplies, experts said.
Egg prices have skyrocketed in recent months due to the worst outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history, killing more than 48 million fowl in the first half of this year. Egg prices peaked this summer to a record $2.57 a dozen in June, according the U.S. Agriculture Department. According to the benchmark quotation for the U.S. egg carton market, the average price of Midwest large eggs was $2.45 on Aug. 31, compared to $1.35 for the same period a year ago.
“When you’re talking about an organization as large as McDonald’s in the U.S., any product they introduce will have the potential to disrupt the marketplace,” said Morningstar’s restaurants analyst RJ Hottovy.
At most of McDonald’s restaurants, breakfast food items are no longer available after about 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. On Tuesday, the world’s biggest fast-food chain announced that it will offer its breakfast menu throughout the day at its more than 14,300 restaurants across the nation. The company hopes the move will boost sagging sales as many customers have long asked for items like hotcakes and egg sandwiches to be available throughout the day. Breakfast products comprise about 30 percent of McDonald’s overall sales in the U.S., according to the company.
Selling Egg McMuffin sandwiches all day could increase McDonald’s sales by as much as 2.5 percent a year, Bloomberg reported.
When serving items like eggs and coffee, breakfast is a higher margin product, said Hottovy, noting that McDonald’s breakfast announcement is a positive move for the company.
“I don’t think they’ll get enough to move the needle, but if it catches on it will be a nice catalyst for profitability,” he said.
Lisa McComb, a spokeswoman for McDonald’s, said the company’s operators and operator leadership voted for nationwide all-day breakfast.
“While restaurants serve All Day Breakfast, our rest-of-day core menu items will stay intact, such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, McNuggets, Fries, etc. but regions can determine what, if any, menu items need removing based on local customer preferences,” McComb said in a statement.
More than 80 percent of McDonald’s global restaurants are owned by franchisees.
McDonald’s did not respond to ABC News about its egg supplies.
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