Bird Flu Losses Drive High Egg Prices

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.