VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – What do you buy when you head down to the US? Gas, cheese, maybe some eggs?

It seems local egg producers are the latest group disappointed with our cross-border shopping habits. The BC Egg Marketing Board has crunched some numbers; it says it’s losing more than $3 million a year to cross-border shopping.

“They’re down there for other products, whether it be milk or cheese… if they’re down there, they’ll buy some eggs. So, they throw some eggs in the cart, too,” explains Executive Director Al Sakalauskas.

He admits eggs are cheaper in the States, “[but] it affects us, it affects employment. It affects all the other multipliers that go with a vibrant egg industry in BC.”

Sakalauskas says BC was the only province to see a drop in egg sales last year. He argues the main reason is that many British Columbians are buying their eggs in the US.