Price of eggs

The price of eggs in the United States has reached unprecedented levels, with estimates placing the average cost at $5.00 per dozen in 2025. This marks a 57.7% increase from 2024 and represents a 45-year high. The principal factors driving this sharp rise include sustained outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), ongoing supply chain disruptions, and persistent inflationary pressures. By early 2025, repeated avian flu outbreaks had caused the culling of over 166 million birds, including a loss of 35 million birds in the early months of the year. Despite soaring prices, consumer demand for eggs has remained robust, exacerbated by a 20% rise in per capita egg consumption since 2019. Supply shortages intensified as a result, keeping upward pressure on prices. Short-term price volatility has been notable, with wholesale prices surging to $8.76 per dozen in February 2025 before temporarily easing to $4.90 as imports increased and flock numbers partially recovered. However, retail prices have responded with delays due to fixed contracts and heightened seasonal demand during periods such as Easter.

External shocks have reshaped the egg market over the past five years. In 2022, the onset of a widespread avian flu outbreak fundamentally altered typical supply and price stability. The average price per dozen jumped from $1.67 in 2021 to $2.86 in 2022, as the avian flu destroyed 11% of the nation's egg-laying hens. This supply shock was compounded by lingering transportation bottlenecks and elevated feed prices, which emerged from pandemic-era disruptions and broader food inflation. As the pathogen persisted into 2023 and beyond, industry efforts to replenish flocks were continually undermined by recurrent outbreaks. Although a temporary price dip occurred in 2023, broader cost pressures and an uncharacteristically high demand for eggs kept prices elevated, much higher than the historical average. Repeated epidemics set the stage for pronounced volatility, as indicated by the extreme price fluctuation throughout early 2025. Additional constraints, such as U.S. import tariffs and limits on foreign supply, impeded short-term stabilization. Retail prices, meanwhile, were slow to adjust downward, reflecting both contractual lags and seasonal consumption spikes.

Macroeconomic dynamics have interacted with disease risk to drive both structural and short-term shifts in the egg market over the past five years. Inflation remained above historical norms during much of the period, pushing up input costs and eroding consumer purchasing power, yet failing to dampen demand for eggs, a staple protein source. In sum, the period from 2020 to 2025 has been defined by the collision of animal disease outbreaks, swelling input costs, transport disruptions, import restrictions, and stubbornly strong demand, culminating in a historic surge in egg prices and volatility.