The humble egg, once a low-cost protein mainstay in American pantries, has experienced a stunning price transformation over the past decade. As of January 2025, consumers are paying record highs for this pantry staple, with the national average per dozen for Grade A large eggs at $4.95. This is not only a huge expense to families across the country but is the culmination of years of volatile price fluctuations driven by a range of economic and agricultural problems.
Recent egg prices reach all-time highs
The beginning of 2025 has been particularly tough for egg consumers, with prices rising by an astonishing 15.2% between December 2024 and January 2025 – the largest monthly increase in a decade. This price increase has been a top driver of overall inflation, which increased to 3% on an annual basis in January, with eggs serving as a top cause of rising grocery prices across the country. The impact is very diverse by geography, with Hawaii, California, Florida, Alabama, and Nevada some of the states with the highest egg costs in the nation. The United States has even reached out to European countries for chances of getting eggs as stated in this article, This is the latest request from the United States to Europe after the ‘egg crisis’ that plagues the country with exorbitant prices: “They couldn’t…
Regional price variations mirror disparate supply chain issues, shipping fees, and state-to-state laws dictating egg production. Because of these record prices and looming shortages, some retailers have implemented buying restrictions. Trader Joe’s, for instance, recently reduced customers to one carton a day to avoid hoarding and for wider distribution.
A decade of volatile egg pricing
The recent price crisis is not an individual phenomenon but the tip of the iceberg of increasingly fluctuating egg market over the last decade. Although exact prices a decade ago are not specified in the provided data, we can follow some unstable price increases. In early 2023, customers were already paying $4.82 for a dozen eggs out of fear of egg shortages. In the 2022 bird flu outbreak, prices had gone up to $4.25 for a dozen large eggs.
The trend continued to increase up to 2024, with eggs averaging $2.99 as of April 2024, a 16% spike from a mere $2.52 as of January in the same year. Prices had gone up by 19% to July 2024 compared to the previous year, with a worrying 5.5% month-to-month growth from June to July alone.
Reasons behind the egg price spur and avian influenza outbreaks
The key cause behind all such record-breaking price surges has been the recurring avian flu outbreak of highly pathogenic HPAI or bird flu. The ongoing H5N1 subtype has destroyed egg-laying flocks within the nation, compelling farmers to finalize record numbers of diseased birds on an unprecedented level. As much as nearly 9 million chickens alone in Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Texas fell victim during early 2024.
When bird flu strikes, whole flocks of birds have to be slaughtered in order to stop spreading it further, and this causes a sharp and acute shortage of supply. Its largest egg supplier, Cal-Maine Foods, had to kill 1.6 million chickens after it detected cases at its plant in Texas. Far worse was the 2014-15 outbreak, when more than 50 million chickens and turkeys were killed and an estimated loss of $3.3 billion was suffered.
Secondary contributing factors
Aside from avian flu, a few other things have driven egg prices upward. Severe winter weather has caused transportation and production bottlenecks. Overall inflation has driven costs up along the supply chain, from feed to transport to packaging. Changing consumer trends have also contributed, with more families relying on eggs as a cheap source of protein, driving total demand upward.
Impact and adaptation
The egg price crisis has forced both households and businesses to adapt. Restaurants like Waffle House have added temporary egg order surcharges. Families are substituting or reducing consumption of this once affordable protein source. As of April 2024, the U.S. had 313 million egg-laying hens, a decrease from 316 million during the same time in 2023, further constraining supply.
Future outlook
There is some hope on the horizon. The USDA is predicting egg prices to fall to around $2.10 per dozen in the third quarter of 2025. Market recovery does take time, however, as it will take at least three months to replace egg-laying hens and restore production to normal. Ongoing risk of avian flu still casts a shadow of doubt over these projections, so the future of the egg market is still difficult to predict with certainty.
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