Egg prices whiplash while other food staples slowly increase
by John McCracken, Investigate Midwest
While groceries prices have increased due to the impacts of inflation and weather on the food supply, the ongoing bird flu has caused egg prices spike in recent months.
Three lines show price changes amongst beef, milk and eggs in recent years. A blue line represent beef raises starting in 2022 and reaching its peak in December 2024. A red line showing milk prices show remaining steady in recent years. A green line representing egg prices shows
Egg prices remain volatile in the wake of the ongoing bird flu outbreaks, which have decimated commercial poultry and egg production across the U.S.
At the end of 2024, the epidemic pushed egg prices to the second-highest level – $4.15 per dozen – in the past decade, according to the Consumer Price Index. That’s second only to the first onset of the recent bird flu outbreaks.
Retail grocery stores were still dealing with inflationary pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic when initial bird flu outbreaks began across the country in early 2022.
By the end of that year, egg prices had doubled from the year before, from less than $2 a dozen to more than $4 a dozen, according to the Consumer Price Index.
Egg prices began to stabilize throughout 2023, but as new waves of bird flu hit, the price of eggs shot back up.
Bird flu has ravaged commercial poultry and egg production, with more than 134 million birds killed since early 2022.
Add comment