Bird flu causing egg prices to soar to new record high
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Packages of eggs in a supermarket in New York City last month. Photo: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images
Egg prices are soaring, breaking new records as the bird flu outbreak grows.
Why it matters: No food item has been as much of an inflation poster child like eggs, and their prices often give a clue about the economic environment.
Driving the news: A dozen large eggs in the Midwest "hit an unprecedented $6.07 per dozen" on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of $5.46 set in December 2022, according to price-reporting service Expana.
- In California, prices have reached $8.97, a 70% increase in the last month, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture's egg markets report.
- Reports of egg shortages have been on the rise and some retailers are limiting how many eggs consumers can purchase.
The big picture: Donald Trump campaigned on bringing down grocery prices but said in an interview with Time magazine that it may be difficult to do.
- "Look, they got them up. I'd like to bring them down," Trump said in the interview. "It's hard to bring things down once they're up. You know, it's very hard."
Yes, but: The sluggish federal response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak could become more disjointed and ineffective in the second Trump administration — if it isn't abandoned altogether, Axios' Tina Reed reports.
Why egg prices up again
Zoom in: Karyn Rispoli, Expana managing editor for eggs in the Americas, told Axios that Thursday marked "three straight weeks of record-breaking daily price increases, though the pace of gains is starting to moderate, suggesting the market may be nearing its peak."
- "The primary driver behind these historic prices is the ongoing spread of avian influenza, which has claimed over 20 million layers during the fourth quarter, a time that also coincides with the year's highest demand period," Rispoli said.
What they're saying: Brian Moscogiuri, a global trade strategist at Eggs Unlimited, an egg supplier based in Irvine, California, told Axios that commodity and cage-free eggs have hit record highs.
- "We're moving beyond the holiday baking season but at the same time, we are continuing to monitor avian flu and the impact on supply," Moscogiuri said. "Production is extremely tight, probably at some of the lowest levels since avian flu started back in 2022."
- Emily Metz, president and CEO of the American Egg Board, said in a statement to Axios that "the volume of eggs sold at retail has been up year-over-year for 20 consecutive months" and that the winter holidays are the highest demand season of the year.
- "These two forces combined — tight supply and high demand — are directly causing the spike in wholesale prices we've seen recently," Metz said.
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