FROM THE PUBLISHER ’ S DESK
First , there was Covid . Then , a war in Ukraine . And now , eggs ? How did the breakfast staple suddenly find itself sharing the world headlines with tragic global events ?
Eggs are suddenly shockingly expensive . A dozen eggs on Guam cost an average of $ 7.49 , nearly double the median average in the U . S ., which is $ 4.29 . According to the Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans , egg prices on Guam went up 71.8 percent compared to the year before . So , in this case , hyperbole is acceptable .
That ’ s all we are obsessed with nowadays . We try to cope with the crisis by sharing egg memes on social media . The chicken is crossing the road , brandishing a Louis Vuitton purse “ since the price of eggs went up .” Steve Carrell is holding a tray of eggs , which the captions says costs the same as a Tesla . There ’ s an open diamond ring box with an egg sitting in it .
But the humor can hardly alleviate the real pain assaulting our pockets . Eggs are just among the several items in the CPI basket . This poultry product draws special attention because it is supposed to be the most affordable commodity in the cold aisle that anyone can put in their cart . So , when lower-income earners can ’ t even have an omelet and even the middle class complain about egg prices , we scramble for answers .
We are fed with the basic supply-and-demand economic principle . For laymen , with little understanding of the complex economic theories , this is easier to digest . Its abstraction leaves no one to blame — other than the avian flu outbreak that decimated U . S . farms and affected 58 million chickens .
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The great egg-flation
This poultry product draws special attention because it is supposed to be the most affordable commodity in the cold aisle that anyone can put in their cart . So , when lower-income earners can ’ t even have an omelet and even the middle class complain about egg prices , we scramble for answers .
And in the absence of a poultry industry on Guam , local retailers have the convenience of pointing the finger at U . S . suppliers .
But the so-called “ egg-flation ” simply represents the overall grocery-price crisis that Guam consumers have to deal with .
On Guam , overall prices of consumer goods climbed 7.9 percent as the dollar ’ s purchasing power dropped $ 0.02 , according to the BSP ’ s CPI report . The consumer price index , which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services , showed an increase of 3.8 percent over the third quarter of 2022 , and 11.2 percent higher compared to the same period one year earlier .
The food group index of 183.7 shows an increase of 3.2 percent over the preceding quarter and 10.4 percent when compared to the same period one year earlier . Electricity prices increased 12.8 percent over the preceding quarter and 72.7 percent when compared to the same period one year earlier . Our dollar is now worth 48 cents , according to BSP .
But elections are over and GovGuam has run out of federal funds to subsidize household expenses . The best it can do is look into — at the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist — possible price-gouging .
At a time when food prices are incredibly high and a great deal of Guamanians are struggling to afford their groceries , it is incumbent upon government regulators to examine the retail industry ’ s role in orchestrating high prices and hold those responsible accountable for their greed .
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief Mar-Vic Cagurangan publisher @ pacificislandtimes . com
Contributing Writers Raquel Bagnol Zaldy Dandan Kambes Kesolei Theodore Lewis Bryan Manabat Joyce McClure Gabriel McCoard Diana Mendoza Thomas Pool Gina T . Reilly JV M . Reyes Claret Ruane Johana Salinas Jay Shedd Robert Underwood Frank Whitman Aline Yamashita
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