USDA ending Easter egg inventory report as bird flu continues
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The USDA's seasonal Easter egg inventory reports are being discontinued. Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The USDA will discontinue its Easter season egg inventory reports, just weeks before the spring holiday, as the bird flu continues to ravage the nation's supply of eggs.
Why it matters: The highly pathogenic avian influenza has intensified in recent months, which has caused prices to spike and led to shortages.
- Many stores are limiting how many eggs shoppers can buy and some restaurants have added temporary egg surcharges.
- Egg prices have gone up 239% between January 2020 and January 2025, federal data shows.
The big picture: The seasonal USDA report tracked egg inventories and egg prices, in a series of weekly reports ahead of Easter and the Monday after the holiday.
- The end of the seasonal reports, which compared prices and inventory levels to the prior four years, was noted in a Feb. 26 report posted on the USDA website.
- A USDA spokesperson told Axios Friday that the "discontinuation of the graphs and the report does not result in the loss of any market information."
- The spokesperson said the information exists in other USDA reports.
The intrigue: The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation into the surging egg prices and potential antitrust issues, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Easter egg demand for 2025
Zoom in: Easter is traditionally the second-hottest demand period of the year for eggs, and only trails the busy winter holidays, Brian Moscogiuri, a global trade strategist at Eggs Unlimited, previously told Axios.
- Eggs are a big part of Easter traditions and the Jewish holiday of Passover.
- This year, Easter is April 20, the latest date since 2019. Passover starts April 12.
Between the lines: Karyn Rispoli, managing editor for eggs in the Americas for price-reporting service Expana, tells Axios that the egg market is "under severe pressure."
- "Wholesale prices are finally being reflected more accurately at the retail level, which along with widespread purchasing restrictions, has slowed demand considerably," Rispoli said.
- "After months of supply constraints, the market is suddenly faced with a surplus of eggs, which is weighing heavily on spot market values."
- Midwest large eggs, which peaked at an all-time high of $8.58 per dozen last week, "shed more than a dollar this week, dropping to $7.23/dozen," Rispoli said.
Egg prices in 2025
What's next: Even with that softening, the price of eggs is expected to rise by 41.1% this year as the bird flu continues to rip through the nation's agricultural economy, according to a federal government report.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said last week in a WSJ op-ed that the Trump administration "will invest up to $1 billion to curb this crisis and make eggs affordable again."
