A Relief for Egg Consumers?
Prices for eggs are witnessing a decline, yet another rise is anticipated.
The egg market might be showing some signs of relief after a rough patch. For months now, consumers have been grappling with a stark reality: fewer eggs at increasingly higher prices.
However, there's a silver lining: Wholesale loose egg prices dropped by $1.20 last week, averaging $6.85 per dozen nationally. This decline represents a 15% drop from the previous week, according to the Department of Agriculture's latest report. Though this decrease pertains to wholesalers, it could potentially nudge retail prices lower at grocery stores.
This drop in prices may be due to an absence of significant HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) outbreaks for nearly two weeks. This period of respite has allowed production to catch up and alleviate recent egg shortages, as stated in the USDA's Egg Markets Overview report.
President Donald Trump claimed credit for the falling egg prices, stating during a White House address that "we got it down, we did a lot of things...the cost of eggs down, very substantially." Yet, consumers are still shouldering elevated prices at the grocery store.
Last month, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a $1 billion plan to combat the soaring egg prices. Despite this effort, Rollins admitted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that stabilization won't be immediate; it could take "three to six months." So far, this prediction seems accurate, with egg prices continuing to climb.
Bernt Nelson, an economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, forecasted in a new report that "Egg prices are setting new records in 2025." A staggering 12 million egg-laying birds were lost in February alone, raising egg prices even higher.
Egg prices spiked by 10.4% in February according to the Consumer Price Index. While this is an improvement over the surge in January, when egg prices jumped by 15.2%, year-over-year, prices increased by an alarming 58.8% in February.
The avian flu has resulted in the loss of 127 million egg-laying birds since 2022. These affected flocks needed to be culled, contributing to egg shortages and inflated prices.
To bring egg prices down, the Trump administration's strategy involves enhancing biosecurity, deploying epidemiologists to collaborate with egg producers, investigating new vaccines, and increasing egg imports. Mexico and Turkey are sending a combined 827,000 dozen eggs to the US to compensate for the shortage, according to the USDA.
However, egg prices are likely to surge again due to the upcoming Easter and Passover holidays, which will fuel renewed demand for eggs similar to the demand seen during the fall holidays. The USDA anticipates that lighter demand for eggs in the weeks leading up to the spring holidays may offer egg producers an opportunity to replenish some of their stock. Nevertheless, prices might still escalate.
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins expressed cautious optimism, indicating that despite a possible price increase, the recent drop in wholesale prices is noteworthy. Spring migration coincides with Passover and Easter, raising concerns about the proliferation of the virus among wild birds, which pose a significant threat to egg-laying flocks.
Emily Metz, President of the American Egg Board, emphasized that "Egg farmers are closely watching spring migration of wild birds, recognizing that wild birds are a leading cause of the spread of this virus and pose a great and ongoing threat to egg-laying flocks."
- The recent drop in wholesale egg prices, despite being significant, could potentially trigger a decrease in retail prices for consumers, as stated by the USDA's Egg Markets Overview report.
- Economist Bernt Nelson of the American Farm Bureau Federation predicts that egg prices will continue to rise in 2025, further increasing the cost for consumers, as stated in his latest report.
- As part of the Trump administration's strategy to reduce egg prices, epidemiologists are being deployed to collaborate with egg producers, with Mexico and Turkey sending a combined 827,000 dozen eggs to help compensate for the shortage, as reported by the USDA.
