Egg Prices Are Rising Again. Why Are They So Expensive? – NerdWallet

Updated Feb. 21, 2024, to reflect the growing impact of the avian flu outbreak.

After falling for months, egg prices are rising again and could continue that way in 2024 as farmers grapple with another outbreak of bird flu.

The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $2.52 in January, up slightly from $2.51 in December, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retrieved from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' FRED site.

Despite the month-to-month increase, egg prices are nowhere near where they were a year ago. CPI data show egg prices are down 23.8% from December 2022.

BLS data tracking egg prices goes back to at least 1980, when large, Grade A eggs cost $0.88 a dozen, not adjusted for inflation.

Before February 2022, the average cost of a dozen had largely stayed below $2 since March 2016.

The price of eggs more than doubled from the beginning of 2022 until hitting its peak of $4.82 per dozen in January 2023. Since then, prices fell steadily until the fall but still hadnt reached pre-pandemic norms before ticking up again.

So, why did egg costs get so high? The pandemic and inflation play a factor, but they arent the real culprit.

Eggs are so expensive because of a widespread outbreak of H5N1, a highly transmissible and fatal strain of avian influenza, or bird flu. The outbreak started in early 2022 and has grown into the largest bird flu outbreak in U.S. history.

The outbreak reduced the egg supply, while demand remained consistent, leading to higher prices.

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Prices eased as the number of bird flu cases declined in 2023, with no infections reported from May through September.

The relief was relatively short-lived, though. Egg producers reported a resurgence of the virus starting in November 2023. The latest outbreak has claimed 13.64 million egg-laying hens so far, according to the USDAs Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report released in February.

As a result, prices started to rise again at the end of 2023. The USDA expects prices to continue climbing in 2024.

Theres an egg shortage because the ongoing bird flu outbreak reduced the number of egg-laying chickens. As of Feb. 16, the virus has affected more than 81.9 million birds in the U.S. since January 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the birds affected were egg-laying hens.

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Egg Prices Are Rising Again. Why Are They So Expensive? - NerdWallet