COST OF SALES
Cost of sales consists of costs directly related to producing, processing and packing shell eggs, purchases of shell eggs
from outside producers, processing and packing of liquid and frozen egg products and other non-egg costs. Farm
production costs are those costs incurred at the egg production facility, including feed, facility, hen amortization, and
other related farm production costs. The following table presents the key variables affecting our cost of sales:
Cost of sales for the fiscal year ended June 1, 2019 was $1,138.3 million, a decrease of $3.6 million, or 0.3%, compared to $1,141.9 million for fiscal 2018. Comparing fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2018, average cost per dozen purchased from outside shell egg producers decreased while cost of feed ingredients and dozens produced increased. For the 2019 fiscal year we produced 84.4% of the eggs sold by us, as compared to 84.2% for the previous year. Feed cost for fiscal 2019 was $0.415 per dozen, compared to $0.394 per dozen for the prior fiscal year, an increase of 5.3%. The increase in feed costs was primarily related to less favorable crop conditions in the south central U. S., which resulted in higher ingredient prices at some of our larger feed mill operations. The increase in feed cost per dozen resulted in an increase in cost of sales of $18.4 million for fiscal 2019 compared with fiscal 2018.
For the thirteen weeks ended June 1, 2019, compared to the thirteen weeks ended June 2, 2018, cost of sales decreased $34.1 million, or 11.3%, from $301.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, to $267.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. Average cost per dozen purchased from outside shell egg producers decreased 42.3% due to significantly lower egg selling prices in the quarter. Feed cost per dozen for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 was $0.411, compared to $0.416 for the same quarter of fiscal 2018, a decrease of 1.2%.
Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, was 16.4% for fiscal 2019, compared to 24.0% for fiscal 2018. The decrease resulted primarily from lower selling prices for non-specialty eggs.
Table:
 | Fiscal Year Ended |  |  | Quarter Ended |  | 
(Amounts in thousands) | June 1, 2019 | June 2, 2018 | Percent Change | June 1, 2019 | June 2, 2018 | Percent Change
Cost of sales: |  |  |  |  |  | 
Farm production | $ 635,797 | $ 603,887 | 5.3 % | $ 162,142 | $ 155,471 | 4.3%
Processing and packaging | 222,765 | 214,078 | 4.1% | 55,584 | 53,734 | 3.4%
Outside egg purchases and other | 249,605 | 287,472 | (13.2)% | 44,509 | 81,623 | (45.5)%
Total shell eggs | 1,108,167 | 1,105,437 | 0.2 % | 262,235 | 290,828 | (9.8)%
Egg products | 29,020 | 35,551 | (18.4)% | 5,139 | 10,743 | (52.2)%
Other | 1,142 | 898 | 27.2% | 444 | 308 | 44.2%
Total | $1,138,329 | $1,141,886 | (0.3)% | $267,818 | $301,879 | (11.3)%
Farm production cost (per dozen produced) |  |  |  |  |  | 
Feed | $0.415 | $0.394 | 5.3% | $0.411 | $0.416 | (1.2)%
Other | 0.319 | 0.303 | 5.3% | 0.328 | 0.311 | 5.5%
Total | $0.734 | $0.697 | 5.3% | $0.739 | $0.727 | 1.7%
Outside egg purchases (average cost per dozen) | $1.26 | $1.45 | (13.1)% | $1.05 | $1.82 | (42.3)%
Dozen produced | 876,705 | 873,307 | 0.4% | 222,625 | 215,729 | 3.2%
Dozen sold | 1,038,900 | 1,037,713 | 0.1% | 254,772 | 251,955 | 1.1%


Question: What was the rationale of decrease in average cost per dozen purchased from outside shell egg producers?
Answer: due to significantly lower egg selling prices in the quarter