Soaring egg prices have US consumers squawking
NEW YORK
A resurgence of avian flu, which first struck the United States in 2022, is hitting chicken farms hard, sending egg prices soaring and rattling consumers accustomed to buying this dietary staple for only a few dollars.
In Washington and its suburbs, supermarket egg shelves are now often empty, or sparsely stocked. Some stores limit the number of cartons each client may buy. And everywhere, consumers are shocked by the high prices.
More than 21 million egg-laying hens have been euthanized this year because of the disease, according to data published by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Most of them were in the states of Ohio, North Carolina and Missouri.
The department reported the "depopulation" of a further 13.2 million in December.
Higher prices were the inevitable result, experts say.
"If there's no birds to lay eggs... then we have a supply shortage, and that leads to higher prices because of supply and demand dynamics," said Jada Thompson, a poultry specialist at the University of Arkansas.
Some grocers are "holding prices at record or near-record highs to dampen demand," the Agriculture Department said.
The average price of a dozen Grade A eggs was 65 percent higher in December compared to a year before, rising from $2.50 to $4.15, according to official data.
Americans are among the world's biggest egg lovers, particularly at breakfast time, consuming on average 277 eggs a year, according to the United Egg Producers, an agricultural cooperative.
