Consumers across the U.S. have had similar grimaces about the high egg prices found at grocery stores. Due to 2022 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza among egg-laying hens, egg prices have remained elevated despite inflation beginning to taper. USDA economists said, “lower-than-usual shell egg inventories at the end of the year, combined with increased demand stemming from the holiday baking season, resulted in several successive weeks of record-high egg prices.”

Prices were expected to decline as hen inventories recover. But according to the Economic Research Service, prices were a whopping 210% higher than this time last year. 2022 bird flu losses amounted to nearly 60 million birds, leading to a 29% reduction in egg inventories across the country.

Read more on egg prices due to bird flu here.