Wholesale egg prices, as tracked by the Urner Barry Egg Index, have reached record highs at the start of the new year. This surge is mostly driven by the ongoing devastating impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which has crushed commercial flocks and dented the nation’s egg-laying capacity
Three weeks ago, new data from Expana showed that a dozen eggs at Midwest supermarkets averaged around $5.67, a record high that eclipsed the prior high of $5.46 set in December 2022.
Expana’s managing editor for eggs in the Americas, Karyn Rispoli, told Bloomberg last month that a “potent combination of avian flu-related production losses and heightened retail demand throughout the holiday baking season” catapulted prices to record highs.
Rispoli said 17 million egg-laying hens and younger birds known as pullets had been culled since mid-October amid a surge in bird flu cases, adding that was one of the worst stretches in the current bird flu outbreak since the virus first emerged in the nation’s flock in February 2022.
Last week, the USDA released a report showing the nation’s egg production totaled 8.92 billion, down 4% from the same period last year. Sliding production has sparked egg shortages at supermarkets in certain regions across the US.
The Google Search trend “egg shortage” has erupted to the highest levels since late 2022.
h/t Coastie Patriot
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