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Egg prices could soar across the US due to rises in bird flu
If you cast your mind back to 2022, you might remember it as the year eggs became ridiculously expensive across the US. Unfortunately, 2024 could have a similar fate – though likely not quite as bad.�
Increasing outbreaks of bird flu across the country again have left experts predicting that egg prices will increase as poultry inventory dwindles. Recent statistics appear to agree too, beginning to show rises in egg prices already.�
Outbreaks of bird flu across America
Avian flu, or bird flu, has existed since 1996, with the most severe outbreak in US history occurring now. The outbreak began in February 2022 on a Midwest poultry farm and in the time since, over 79 million birds have been affected.
It seems that the virus is on the rise again, after falling drastically in the latter part of 2023. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 10.62 million birds across 63 flocks nationally were affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks over the past 30 days.
Reports indicate that last month saw 11.4 million birds affected, which is a sharp increase from just 1.3 million in October.�
Outbreaks of the bird flu mean that poultry producers have to quarantine or euthanize affected flocks of chickens and ducks.�
What this means for egg prices
A rise in the disease has the ability to cause national egg shortages thanks to the euthanization of chickens and the quarantine of some flocks. When supplies lower, the prices tend to increase.
Seemingly every day there is another announced infection site, which not only physically reduces the actual number of egg layers, but also casts a negative psychology over the entire egg market, Kevin Bergquist, Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute sector manager, said in a written statement to USA Today. The reaction to supply stress is price increase.
As more HPAI (avian flu) infection incidents are announced, the egg market will likely react with higher prices, he added.
Current prices of eggs have risen by 12 percent over the last month, according to The Wall Street Journal. Although this isnt a great sign, current prices are still down compared to last year, at around half of what they were this time last year.�
Egg prices rose enormously in 2022
In November of 2022, egg prices reportedly rose a whopping 49% over the same month in 2021.
At the end of the year, egg prices had risen by 59% across the US and in some locations, organic eggs retailed for less than regular eggs.
For wholesalers, prices reached a high of $5.37 per dozen in December 2022, but by May 2023, they had fallen to just $0.89 per dozen.
Prices continued to lay low throughout the year as outbreaks subsided across the country, but as outbreaks rise, so do prices.
